News Release

NORTH MANCHESTER – Manchester University faculty members created an interdisciplinary summer course for incoming students that helps them transition from high school to college-level courses.

Elton Skendaj

It explores the many ways COVID-19 has affected our lives.

“This is a good way for students to see our faculty in action and to interact with them,” said Elton Skendaj, who is coordinating the course. “The one-credit course allows them to take part in up to seven modules, across a variety of disciplines, so they get a taste of college-level academics before the fall semester.”

Manchester also provides a first-year seminar in the fall specifically designed to help incoming students make the transition. This summer short course is a little over a month-long, and faculty members pulled it together in a short period as a way to connect with students who are eager to get a head start.

COVID-19: Understanding the Global Pandemic and its Effects is online and includes recorded lectures, journaling, posting to discussion boards, and writing a short essay. In order to earn credit, students will need to take part in at least five of the modules and complete the course.

Faculty members who are teaching modules will have virtual office hours for one-on-one discussions, and Spartan Success staff will be available to offer academic support.

The modules are:

• “Peace, Violence and COVID-19” with Skendaj, an associate professor in peace studies
• “COVID-19 and social inequality: differences in pandemic experiences across race and class” with Assistant Professor Jared Friesen, sociology, social work and criminology
• “Reconsider the pandemic if there were no internet” with Assistant Professor Robin Mitchell, computer science
• “Understanding Exponential Growth” with Professor Andrew Rich, mathematics
• “COVID in the Time of Bananas: Energy, Poverty, and Disease in Central American Literature” with Professor Scott DeVries, modern languages
• “Psychology of Isolation and Religious Culture” with Associate Professor Justin Lasser, religious studies
• Architecture: Re-imagining the spaces in which we live (and work”) with Assistant Professor Thelma Rohrer, art

The course begins July 1 and runs through early August.

The University is exploring ways to utilize the content to serve a broader audience.