A packed Salomon auditorium filled to the brim with students is often a familiar sight for exam-takers at Brown. This year, COVID-19 restrictions have reshaped midterm season entirely, and faculty have had to rethink their approach to evaluating students’ comprehension in a new digital learning landscape. 

The University has implemented a myriad of new policies to address necessary changes for operating safely during the pandemic, but no adjustments have been made to address the issue of misconduct online, especially as it exists across professional power divides.

Teaching assistants have always played an essential role in helping classes run smoothly, moderating discussion sessions and answering students’ questions.

Upon hearing the University’s announcement that classes would operate mostly online, Rebecca Ho ’21, visual art and biology concentrator and co-head Herald photo editor, was worried that she would not be able to complete her visual art concentration requirements.

Brown will welcome back more undergraduates to its residence halls and hold some in-person classes this fall, President Christina Paxson P’19 wrote in an email to the Brown community Thursday, Sept. 10. 

In his keynote address at the University’s 257th Opening Convocation, Associate Professor of Religious Studies Andre C. Willis discussed the “new normal” in daily life and ethics during this time of global unrest — a new normal reflected in the University’s first-ever convocation to occur entirely online.

In early spring, before COVID-19 had officially been deemed a pandemic and the semester moved online, the University’s Department of Computer Science was one of the first to begin moving its operations online.

During a heavily-attended Tuesday faculty meeting held over Zoom, President Christina Paxson P’19 and Provost Richard Locke P’18 discussed future operations, including reopening campus for the fall and contingency plans for potentially continuing online learning next semester.

Professors across disciplines are preparing for the challenges and opportunities of a virtual academic environment in advance of the resumption of classes remotely March 30.

For the first time this fall, the University has added online courses for students to take during the academic year