Abstract
This article examined the ways in which students and their classroom interactions were influenced by the transition from emergency, remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic to in-person, traditional classrooms by the California State University-Sacramento. To understand this impact, a thorough study was conducted via online surveys in the English department at this public four-year university, which has historically been an in-person, non-hybrid institution. Participants were students who were enrolled in courses during the online-only phase of the COVID-19 pandemic and after for the transition back to in-person learning. This study was conducted in two phases: a pilot and a main group. The pilot attempt allowed adjustments to the survey questionnaire and illustrated enough success to move forward. The main study was also an online survey which was distributed by instructors of upper-division English courses to their students. Capturing the perspectives of students who were enrolled in the window of time I was interested in was key (Fall 2021-Spring 2022). I collected basic demographic information and coded participant responses by VIVO analysis before examining themes. Limitations include response rate percentages and therefore results are nongeneralizable. The research indicated that the transition back to in-person, traditional courses was difficult for study volunteers due to a lack of community, which requires foundations of a sense of belonging and mental health to develop and maintain.