By: Colton Creel: Staff Writer
For the Summer 2022 semester, ABAC has a total of 1,338 students enrolled to take classes the semester. Out of those students, 52% of those students are taking their classes online, while the other 48% of students are taking their classes either on-campus or in a hybrid classroom. That means that out of those 1,338 students, 696 students are taking their classes online, and 642 of them are taking their classes on the ABAC campus. The number of students that have made the switch from on-campus learning to online learning has increased in the last couple of years for many reasons.
One of the reasons for the switch is that the COVID-19 pandemic is still a problem within the United States. The vaccine has helped with the spread of the virus, but there are still people getting sick. However, the vaccine is not 100% a cure-all for the disease, and that is why everyone should still be thinking about the effects that the virus has on the human body. The effects of COVID are more harmful to the people that are older. There are students on the ABAC campus who have relatives who are a part of the older generation.
If those students are exposed to the virus and did not know about the exposure, then they could run the risk of giving their older relatives the virus. Another reason why I think the number is rising is because of the distance to get to the campus from wherever the students live. Most of the students have been living on campus in the fall and spring semesters, with little time spent with their loved ones at their homes. I think that after that much time away from the people that they care about, they will want some of that time back in these three months. Along with spending time with their loved ones, online classes allow them to learn the same material as if they were still on the campus. If the opportunity is open for the students who are taking online classes, and gain the same degree while keeping their loved ones safe from the virus, no wonder the students are making the switch between on-campus and online classes
