In response to the coronavirus pandemic, the University of Oregon has turned to providing classes remotely to its students. But some classes cant be taught online, and a number of students have experienced course cancellations, including courses taught at the Oregon Institute of Marine Biology campus and art and design classes.

Students in courses that included field or lab work were canceled due to the hands-on nature of these classes.

Marine biology majors at UO are required to spend a minimum of three terms at the OIMB campus in Charleston, Oregon. There, they engage in intensive field and lab classes that include working with live animals and going dredging on OIMBs research vessel, said Maya Watts, the education program coordinator for OIMB.

OIMB canceled four of its spring term courses, Watts said: Marine Ecology, Invertebrate Zoology, Embryology and Larval Ecology and Habitats of the Oregon Coast.

These courses couldnt be offered remotely as we cannot replicate full-day classes with numerous field trips, lab and microscope work, Watts said. It would be doing an injustice to the experience our students are expecting and looking forward to at OIMB.

Because of the requirement to spend academic terms in residence at OIMB, graduating seniors will face the challenge of meeting requirements for the marine biology major, said Craig Young, the director of OIMB.

The Oregon Institute of Marine Biology is located in Charleston, Oregon. (Cplow/Wikipedia)

Without these kinds of courses, the training of marine biologists is severely compromised, Young said. We are working to find ways that we can remedy these potential deficiencies as soon as the pandemic is over.

A few small studio classes offered to students in the UO School of Art + Design have also been canceled due to distance learning.

The Intro Jewel and Metals course, which explores developing and constructing jewelry and objects rooted in material culture, was canceled, according to the course catalog.

Josh Morris, a freshman and a product design major, registered for the course in early-March and was notified a week before spring term began that the class had been canceled.

It was kind of upsetting at first just because I had to figure out what I was going to do or like what class I was going to register for, Morris said. And it is a required studio class for product design, so that kind of messed up some of my overall four-year plan.

Landscape architecture classes such as Urban Farm and the topic class Trees Across Oregon, which teaches students about the diversity and wonder of Oregons trees, were also canceled, according to the course catalog.

Julia Treacy, a freshman who registered for Urban Farm, had been excited to immerse herself in the class and learn about farming.

That was going to be the class where I got to farm and learn about plants, Treacy said. Honestly, I thought it would be moved digitally somehow, so I was disappointed that didnt happen.

Urban Farm is offered during spring, summer and fall terms to students from any discipline at UO. In the class, students learn about where their food comes from and how their food choices affect change, according to the website.

Treacy felt like the participatory aspect of her learning had been disrupted due to spring term going online.

Urban Farm canceling took away another hands-on learning class, Treacy said. And I am more hands-on than a remote learner.

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Spring term courses at the UO canceled due to remote learning - Oregon Daily Emerald