In order to strengthen substantive and management processes in academic life, the Office of Academic Affairs of Universidad Autónoma de Coahuila continues with the implementation of various strategies to meet the needs of students and teachers, during the online class stage.
The Vice President of Academic Affairs, Octavio Pimentel Martínez, commented that we continue working to address the areas of opportunity identified in the teaching of online classes, in addition to the mental health problems experienced by the university community during the pandemic.
“Our commitment is to provide full attention to students and teachers in this process; we are working on developing a different evaluation model, because the learning process is different across platforms, in addition to training teachers by area of knowledge for the delivery of their virtual classes,” he said.
He added that it was necessary to work with this segmentation so that teachers could adapt and provide a learning and cooperative work environment, which met the objectives of each course and provided a minimum level of stress for both the teacher and students.
Faced with this topic, Pimentel Martínez emphasized that, thanks to the online meetings held by UAdeC President, Salvador Hernández Vélez with more than 600 teachers and professors from the three Regional Campuses, he noted information was obtained regarding the mental health problems of academics, such as stress, anxiety and depression.
“We are strengthening our work plan for care and timely detection of these problems also of students through the Tutoring program on each campus, and the support of the schools of Psychology and the newly established, University Psychological Support Network, we strive to always have alternatives of dialogue and open communication channels to request attention” he mentioned.
Regarding face-to-face classes, the Vice President of Academic Affairs at UAdeC stated that there was no specific date to return, so the gradual opening is to be determined by Health and Education federal and state authorities, as well as the COVID-19 Regional Technical Subcommittees.
“We are looking forward to continue working with the directions our authorities deem necessary, UAdeC is prepared with the general protocol for returning to classrooms, along with Coronavirus awareness and prevention programs,” he said.
He also reported that there were areas that had specific needs to have face-to-face classes, such as laboratories and clinical practices in the areas of Health Sciences and Exact Sciences, which, authorized by subcommittees in each region are allowed to attend UAdeC schools in the state strictly following particular protocols.
“Schools that requested the reopening of their facilities to teach some specific subjects are bound to their region’s health conditions and provisions, however, thy must also follow the general recommendations issued by UAdeC, such as complying with a minimum capacity for laboratory practices, which are limited to a maximum of 4 or 5 students,” he said.
Likewise, Octavio Pimentel Martínez highlighted that, good communication has ensued between teachers and students, to modify the calendar of the classes, in order to attend in a deferred way in the day and time that is best suited to follow protocol and avoid overcrowding.
The Vice President of Academic Affairs at UAdeC recognized the effort and commitment of the entire university community to the adversities that the pandemic has brought with it. Despite those, we have made great achievements such as a virtual collaborative learning teaching, unity in the work teams of schools and faculties, as well as the fulfillment of the academic objectives of the University.
