Faculty Stress Factors at a Public University During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Emergency Remote Teaching (ERT) during the COVID-19 pandemic brought many challenges to education systems across the world. Faculty at a public university participated in a survey to aid in defining challenges and stress factors experienced with ERT. Eighty-three percent of faculty participating in the survey indicated they were stressed during the pandemic ERT. Linked stress factors included course organization satisfaction, capturing student learning, energy to move to an online format, translating lessons to online, and online teaching experience. Open-ended survey questions additionally identified faculty frustrations from the lack of student engagement, the amount of time to move to the ERT format, and the desire to decrease student enrollment numbers in courses when teaching in the online format. Clemson University gave faculty the option of utilizing a hybrid model of ERT course delivery during the pandemic, rotating students enrolled in a course for in-person class attendance during a portion of the semester, and this model appeared to elevate some of the issues related to student engagement.