Berkley Center

On March 6, 2020, the first case of COVID-19 was confirmed in Peru, and the government implemented a full lockdown on March 15. Despite the government’s early restrictions, the country had approximately 142,000 COVID-19 cases by May 28, including 4,099 deaths relating to the coronavirus, making it the third-highest toll in Latin America at the time (interview with Lenin Jara, Social Responsibility Officer, August 24, 2020). When the COVID-19 pandemic began in Peru, the UARM community simultaneously faced challenges in beginning their new school term.

As Peru went into lockdown, UARM community members remained at home instead of beginning their new school term. The start of classes was pushed back by one week while the administration worked to figure out how to begin the semester remotely. When classes began online, many students from Lima and its surrounding areas remained at home with their families. Students from other regions in Peru were faced with a difficult decision: remain in Lima without their families or return to their regions with the possibility of limited internet which would be vital for attending classes online. Students traveling hundreds of miles back home to the Peruvian provinces had to navigate the fast-moving conditions as regional borders closed within a few short days when the country entered lockdown. Yet, students were not the only ones who needed to adapt to the changing environment. Professors learned new technologies to adapt their courses to digital classrooms as the term began only a week later than expected. Both students and staff faced significant barriers when maintaining the university’s functions at the start of the pandemic.

In addition to adapting to an online environment, many students and their families faced financial constraints due to the lockdown and changing economy. Students worried about how they would continue to afford their education while staff were concerned about maintaining their livelihood given the new restrictions. As the university community was spread out across Peru, members struggled to maintain connections with close friends, classmates, and colleagues while being physically distanced. In their response to the pandemic and its new challenges, university officials worked to maintain the trust of the community while searching for ways to sustain UARM’s educational operations.

Descubre la nueva UARM, aprender para trascender. Video 1: Introduction to La Ruiz/Discover the new UARM (Source: UARM Youtube)

Themes

As UARM approached the new semester, the university recognized that maintaining a holistic education and close-knit community would be difficult in a remote environment. To understand some of the challenges facing the university community during the COVID-19 crisis, I conducted 14 interviews in August and September 2020. In this report, I cover four themes relating to social justice that arose in UARM’s approaches to putting their education online: Finances and Educational Continuity; Physical Distance from Community; Regional and Cultural Differences; and Trust and Transparency.

Finances and Educational Continuity

As Peruvian society went into lockdown, many jobs were lost in a quickly shifting economy. The consequences of this financial crisis impacted UARM students and their families as many lost the sources of income that had been used to fund their university education. As the COVID-19 crisis lengthened, students struggled to continue to pay tuition, and recent alumni had trouble looking for employment opportunities. In addition, some students who returned home to the provinces of Peru did not have the technology necessary for continuing their education in a virtual space. Financial constraints and limited access to communication devices put educational continuity at risk, and the UARM community needed to consider these issues when determining how to start the new term.

In response to the financial crisis that was occurring as a result of the lockdown, the UARM administration provided internet access and communication devices, such as laptops, to students who were unable to attend online classes. In addition, university employees who were now working from home were able to return to campus to pick up devices that they needed to continue their tasks. Staff and students were able to work with university administration to attain the resources required to continue operating the educational institution.

Similar to students and their families, recent alumni were also finding it difficult to secure employment due to the crisis. UARM alumnus Lenin Jara was interning at an engineering company in the United States with hopes of finding a job in the country as an engineer afterward (interview with Lenin Jara, August 24, 2020). When the pandemic began, Lenin’s internship ended early, compelling him to return home to Cusco, Peru, without a job. Lenin was hired by UARM as a social responsibility officer to help the university find scholarships for their students. His role directly impacts students’ access to education, while also providing him with employment.

As a result of hiring more staff and securing scholarship grants, the university was able to provide some students with additional funding to continue their education. In addition, UARM was able to give more time to students to pay off their debt and even forgave some of the debt in certain situations. Typically, students who are behind on debt are not able to attend classes, but the university also allowed these students to continue attending classes. Director of the Language Center Laura Marsh believes that these measures helped the university maintain its numbers during the pandemic and noticed that the Language Center had higher enrollment despite being completely virtual (interview with Laura Marsh, 2020). Recognizing that some students would need to stop their programs due to the financial cost, UARM found ways for students to continue their education in the face of the country’s widespread financial crisis.

While the university administration was making sacrifices on behalf of the school to ensure educational continuity, other members of the university community were also making sacrifices to maintain their mission. University staff agreed to give up part of their salaries as a way for the university to continue operating the school. Employees felt a sense of social responsibility in being asked to contribute to the protection of the university’s financial status and wanted the university to continue to stay afloat. They understood that educational continuity was a priority for the university and would help their community. At the same time, many appreciated the university administration’s transparency in discussing their financial situation. From the administration to the staff, the actions of the UARM community were influential in continuing to provide education to students.

The measures taken by UARM to relieve the financial constraints suffered by many during the pandemic prioritized educational continuity. Influenced by their Jesuit identity, many members thought of their work as a social responsibility, wanting to help their community to keep operating in a crisis. To continue providing education at the start of the pandemic, the university administration provided communication devices to some students to assist them in accessing online classes, while also allowing students to continue learning despite their tuition debt. UARM was also able to hire recent alumni who in their new roles would search for scholarship grants for current students to assist them in continuing their degrees. While staff sacrificed a part of their income to help the university’s financial status, certain parts of the university, such as the Language Center, were able to see higher numbers of enrollment as a result of their actions as part of the university’s financial crisis strategy.

Physical Distance from Community

While online classrooms and meeting rooms connected community members across the country, overcoming the physical distance was a major challenge that UARM faced when adapting to the pandemic. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the university was proud of maintaining a close-knit community. Students and staff shared lunches together, mixing different foods from across the regions on a single plate (interview with Carolina, 2020). On-campus cultural events brought people together as students fundraised for certain causes and displayed local arts and crafts from home. When Peru went into lockdown, students and staff were spread out across the country. Some students were living at home with their families, while others were living alone in Lima. Finding ways to connect with each other despite the physical distance played a large role in UARM’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of the university’s curriculum, students participate in a class called tutoria, where they meet with a staff member and a small group of students every couple of weeks to discuss academic and personal issues occurring throughout the term. While the tutorias played an important role in the students’ Jesuit education before the pandemic, their function became vital for some students as the lockdown began, acting as an additional support system in an online environment. Through the tutorias, students and staff were provided a space to talk about their experiences of living in lockdown and to share resources on how to care for themselves and others. Students were also given the option to participate in a physical fitness class or social activities held virtually. The tutorias allowed staff to check in with students on their well-being and mental health, demonstrating the importance of fostering community beyond academics.

In the university’s switch to online instruction during the lockdown, community members also found new ways to communicate with each other. Professors went beyond traditional means of communication such as emails and classroom conversations, and instead reached students via WhatsApp and Facebook. They also recorded the seminars held on Zoom in case students could not attend at a certain time or did not have a strong enough internet signal (interview with Lesly, 2020). As part of the community, students checked on each other and helped their classmates keep up with the material, especially when some struggled to access the virtual classroom spaces. Teachers worked together to learn new approaches to technology and adapt their classrooms to the digital space (interview with Laura, 2020).

Outside of the virtual classroom, student-led activities provided space for new connections despite the physical distance. Iñigo, an organization within the university’s pastoral education, allowed students to engage in spirituality while talking about their experiences of living in lockdown. Student leader Francisco Vidal works with students in Iñigo communities to encourage connections from campus to continue online. In the Iñigo communities, students are provided the space to talk about their day, their families, and their feelings to reflect on the current situation (interview with Francisco Vidal, 2020). In these reflections, students are told that they are not alone. Explaining the importance of Iñigo communities during the COVID-19 lockdown, Francisco notes, “We are far but near, and we try to continue with the community in this space… It’s a simple phrase, but I think it has a big meaning for us,” (interview with Francisco Vidal, 2020). Students have created virtual spaces to adapt to the new physical distance between each other, but they remain as connected to their university community as ever.

The continued connections between the university community were necessary for some, as the pandemic took a toll on people’s lives. Through tough times and loss, community members used their colleagues and classmates as a support network. Office of Quality Assurance employee Carolina Gomez Panduro experienced several losses in her family and community in Iquitos as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Iquitos, a city located in the Peruvian jungle, had one of the highest mortality rates in the country due to COVID-19 in the early months of the pandemic (interview with Carolina Gomez Panduro, 2020). While apart from both her family in Iquitos and colleagues at UARM, Carolina felt supported through the online connections that she maintained during the lockdown. Her colleagues not only supported her emotionally but also participated in fundraisers that she held to quickly purchase expensive medicine and medical supplies for family members who had contracted the virus. In Iquitos, space in hospitals became extremely limited, as did ventilators and oxygen. Limited resources for people very ill with COVID-19 led to inflation in the prices of medication and long lines to purchase medical supplies. In this time of crisis, Carolina felt supported by her colleagues as they assisted her in purchasing materials for her family and kept her in their prayers as she dealt with loss.

UARM’s Jesuit identity plays a large role in how community members care for others. While members were physically distanced, they worked together to further students’ education and maintain connections beyond academic and work purposes. The university guides its staff and students through the Four Cs: commitment, compassion, critical awareness, and professional competence (interview with Laura, 2020). While these qualities create a great learning environment under normal circumstances, they are even more important during times of crisis. The university community worked to maintain their connections with others inside and outside of the virtual classrooms in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through these acts of strengthening and maintaining community, despite the distance, the UARM community members were able to continue to care for each other.

Regional and Cultural Differences

UARM’s student body represents many cultural communities across Peru. Through university events and social activities, students are able to engage in their cultures and share them with the UARM community. Despite the university’s cultural diversity, participants shared that both everyday discrimination and systemic factors can make life more difficult for students who are from the provinces of Peru. In describing some of the experiences students from the provinces have faced, Professor Víctor Casallo noted, “It's very trying, because many of them suffer from discrimination in our city because the way they look, the skin color, because how they speak, the language they speak.” Students from the various regions of Peru can sometimes have a difficult transition when moving to Lima and becoming a part of the UARM community. These challenges are only exacerbated during times of crisis.

Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya | Perú. Video 2: Informational video about Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya (Source: Encuentro Iberoamericano de Jóvenes Ignacianos Youtube channel)

When Peru entered its lockdown against COVID-19, students from the provinces had to decide between staying in Lima or returning home. In deciding to go back home, students were faced with continuing their university education online in different conditions than others in Lima and its surrounding communities.

Students who remained in Lima often faced loneliness as they spent the lockdown away from their families and friends. As the coronavirus evolved and caused harm for many Peruvians, it was difficult for many students to remain in contact with their loved ones while they were living at a distance. In addition, students were also concerned about how they would take care of themselves if they contracted the coronavirus while living alone (interview with Zein, 2020). Industrial Engineering student Emerson Llanca Cachay decided to remain in Lima for the term, rather than go back to his home province of Amazonas. He wanted to return to his village to spend the lockdown with his family, but he chose to remain in Lima due to the travel restrictions and the ability to access the internet.

In the provinces, students were less likely to have access to laptops and Wi-Fi and sometimes traveled with anxiety to reach these items. Emerson worried for his classmates who returned to the provinces as they might reside in towns in the mountains or jungle with limited or inconsistent internet access. In addition to the several challenges that students faced in adapting to online education, students who returned to the provinces and their families also faced limited access to health care and medicine, loss of employment, and other illnesses such as the deadly dengue virus. Whether students returned to their homes in the provinces or lived alone in Lima, many faced a number of obstacles in continuing their education on an online platform.

In UARM’s move to online education, the university was able to support some students who had trouble accessing their classes from home. Professors uploaded recordings of classes to help students who had a weak or limited internet connection (interview with Emerson Llancha Cachay, 2020). Professors also communicated through WhatsApp, changing their platform for communication in order to suit students’ needs. The university allowed students to pay their fees at a later date with no interest in order to support their education when they or their family members lost their jobs. In comparison, one participant’s sister had to stop pursuing her degree at another university when their family’s financial situation changed. While the other university provided a discount on tuition, the student was still unable to continue their education due to the crisis. 

In addition to UARM’s efforts to keep students in the classroom, the community worked to maintain its connections and supportive environment. Classmates checked in with each other to support those who might have trouble joining digital classrooms, and the university community communicated over social media to stay in the loop about happenings in the country (interview with Emerson Llancha Cachay, 2020). Although UARM’s quick response to the COVID-19 crisis was commended by many participants, some students wished that there had been more transparency in their decisions and that the assistance they were providing was clearer (interview with Zein, 2020). Some felt that there was some confusion among the student body, while others believed that the university’s decisions were made too quickly and without enough input from the students (interview with Swanne and Jorge Luis, 2020). In addition, as the coronavirus has progressed, some students are still concerned about the future of their studies and how their situations might impact their future careers (interview with Cristine, 2020). While the university’s response to the coronavirus did not explicitly address the provinces of Peru, students from these regions were often able to receive additional support from the university if they had trouble continuing their education online.

Trust and Transparency

As vital conversations within the university community were now happening over social media and other virtual platforms, trust and transparency became more important in working to meet institutional needs. In recent years, transparency in higher education has been a major debate in Peruvian politics. Universities, including UARM, have started creating offices to submit reports to respond to the government’s inquiries and publish statistics to maintain public trust. Though UARM was required to comply with the Peruvian government’s actions in higher education, the university also needed to acknowledge its community’s concerns.

UARM’s role as a Jesuit university contributes to how people view the university and its commitments. As participants noted, Jesuit education has a positive reputation in Peru. Students and their families trust Jesuit schools and universities to provide quality education and a great learning environment. Nearly all of the participants spoke about the impact of attending a Jesuit university, and some indicated that the university’s Jesuit and humanist perspective impacted how the university cared for its students and staff. The university’s Jesuit identity strengthens its reputation among families in Peru and acts as a foundation for trust within the community.

In turn, many community members hold high expectations for UARM, particularly during times of crisis. One participant noted that he was disappointed in how UARM handled the shift to online education and expected more from the university as a result of its Jesuit identity. He believed that the administration’s decisions represented more of a business model than a Jesuit university. This connection between people’s trust in UARM and their expectations for it highlights the impact that the Jesuit identity has on the institution. In their COVID-19 strategy, the university could not simply rely on their religious affiliation but needed to pursue actions that would maintain the community’s trust during a crisis. Many participants believed that they succeeded, while others thought there was more room for improvement.

In addition to trust, transparency between the administration and community was even more important during lockdown as students and employees were concerned about the future of their education, work, and community. One student in the study wanted to see more transparency in the decision-making process and noticed the ways the university was helping students, while a few members of staff appreciated how the administration clearly communicated issues that the university was facing as a result of the pandemic. Yet, both staff and students noted that UARM’s decisions seemed to be more attuned to their needs when asked to compare them to those of other universities in Lima. Participants shared stories about friends and family members who were unable to continue their degrees at other universities, but they knew many people at UARM who received assistance and were able to continue their programs. Trust and transparency within the community were vital in maintaining the university at the start of the pandemic.

Summarizing Thoughts

Through my interviews with members of the UARM community, I found that the university administration prioritized students and their ability to continue their studies in making financial decisions. These decisions included sacrifices by employees and investments in greater administrative support for students’ education amid crises. The university’s decisions were influenced by its Jesuit identity and commitment to others. In my interviews, I learned that most of the staff and students believed that the university responded adequately to the challenges within the crisis, particularly in addressing systemic inequalities that would impact students’ education.