KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — It was a stressful, chaotic and tense week at Pellissippi State Community College — more stressful than finals usually are.
The college's computer systems were brought down by a ransomware attack, blocking students from accessing some of the systems they needed to take their last exams. Despite the new challenges though, many students still took their degrees on Friday during the school's commencement ceremony.
A psychology graduate, Nathan Day, said that he was about to take one of his final exams when the attack prevented him from accessing the website he needed.
"I was never able to access the actual website," he said. "I was able to get in and take my final on my phone, which was kind of crazy. but it worked."
The college said 520 fall graduates, and 266 summer graduates had a chance to experience a sense of normalcy.
Pellissippi uses Brightspace Learning Management software. Through this platform, students can access materials for their online classes, take tests and turn in assignments. However, students had trouble accessing it on Tuesday when many of the college's computer systems went down.
On Thursday, the college also released a statement that they were seeing an increase in the number of robocalls they were receiving. Those calls are usually automated from political parties or telemarketers, and use databases of phone numbers found online to call people.
But despite all chaos, students said their professors and the college's entire faculty met their needs.
"They didn't add any stress, and I definitely appreciated that," said one of the students.
The commencement ceremony was at Thompson Boling Arena. Staff members said that students deserve some credit too for persevering through all the unusual circumstances, turning in assignments and staying flexible with the school.
As of Friday evening, many students did not have access to the Brightspace platform. College leaders said they would continue updating students on their work to get their networks up and running once again.