RAPID: Effects of the Move to Online Teaching on the Rural HBCU Community due to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic

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The Historically Black Colleges and Universities - Undergraduate Program (HBCU-UP) supports RAPID projects when there is a severe urgency with regard to availability of, or access to, data, facilities or specialized equipment, including quick-response research on natural or anthropogenic disasters and similar unanticipated events, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The project at Fort Valley State University seeks to investigate the adaptability and educational outcomes of rural HBCU students, many of whom are members of underserved populations, and faculty who are asked to adopt online course delivery as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The effects on student retention and learning, and on faculty turnover will be studied. The long-term goal of this project is to study the best mechanism of suddenly introducing rural, underserved, and underrepresented populations to online instruction leading to successful academic outcomes. Many students and faculty from rural HBCUs face unique challenges, including the availability of consistent internet access, the availability of tools for online teaching, and readiness for an online teaching environment. The project investigates the impacts of prompt or forced online lecture and laboratory courses on undergraduate chemistry and biology majors. Using Qualtrics, multivariate analysis, and constructivism theory as the theoretical framework, the impacts of adaptability and educational outcomes of rural HBCU students and faculty will be examined. In addition, the project will study the relationship among the instructors who have no knowledge, little knowledge and good knowledge in teaching online courses using multivariate analysis. Pre and post questionnaires will compare the effects of sudden online learning and teaching among the three groups of faculty and students. The project will also provide assistance to faculty for best practices for online teaching, particularly for laboratory courses.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.