You might think that as a college student, testing positive for COVID-19 would result in a week of remote learning… But what if we told you that it may cause complete ejection from class?
For a Georgetown law student, this is exactly what happened. After getting a test confirming the virus had infected her, Danette Blain says that she was removed from her “Business and Financial Basics” course. Blain is vaccinated, but that didn’t stop a breakthrough infection.
The Daily Caller reported, The professor told Blain that he was working with the university regarding accommodation policies and asked if she was willing to attend class via Zoom to “ask questions and the like in real-time,” according to the student-professor email exchange.
Despite her professor offering zoom accommodations, Blain was notified by the director of academic affairs that she was ineligible to take the course due to the positive COVID-19 test. She was told that the class had a mandatory attendance policy, and that zoom attendance apparently wouldn’t be sufficient.
“I’m confirming in writing that we are not able to offer you an option for remote participation in the weeklong Business and Financial Basics course that starts this Monday,” said the Director, Emily Wack. “You will need to drop the course the Office of the Registrar will take care of this for you.”
The universities Associate Dean of Academic Affairs told Blain that mandatory attendance was the only way to ensure that students did the minimum work necessary.
The university seems to have forgotten that test-taking is an available option. Even students who attend class might slack off. The only real way to find out is by administering a test/quiz to the class.
Blain is now enrolled to take the class in the spring… oddly enough this particular class – the same one that she was forced to drop is now completely online. What happened to mandatory attendance being necessary to ensure students put in minimal effort?
