Impacts of Converting Courses to Virtual Instruction Midsemester at a Hispanic-Serving Institution

The sudden transition from in-person to virtual learning during the spring 2020 semester posed challenges for students and faculty alike. This paper explores the techniques used by faculty to transform the chemistry and biochemistry curriculum at a Hispanic-serving institution with a significant proportion of first-generation students and the response of students to these changes. Faculty utilized an assortment of techniques, including synchronous lectures by video conference, asynchronous prerecorded lectures, online examinations with varying timing policies, and virtual office hours. A survey was completed by 332 students across 26 different courses taught by 11 faculty regarding their preferences for course delivery format and the academic and nonacademic challenges they faced. A paired samples t-test indicated a statistically significant difference in satisfaction with face-to-face instruction (M = 4.13, SD = 0.765) and satisfaction with virtual instruction (M = 3.57, SD = 0.961), t(440) = 13.30, p < 0.001, Cohen’s d of 0.63, and Cronbach’s α of 0.767. The results indicated a preference for face-to-face instruction. Open-ended survey questions identify that the primary academic challenges faced by students involved technology, understanding material, and difficulty obtaining help, while the primary nonacademic challenges were work issues, focus/motivation, and family issues. These results may inform future practices for virtual instruction.