That seems like such overkill. I’m curious, so if you’re in a romantic relationship, can you get sent home for kissing or holding hands? Can a friend offer a supportive hug on a bad day, or is social distancing too strict?
I get wanting to prevent covid, but that’s too steep of a mental health costs IMO.
Update on Fall '21 - my DS who will be in his final UG semester has to register for classes this week. Based on the statements on the class schedule page - ASU is planning for most classes to be in person next Fall. Obviously subject to change - I was encouraged by the tenor of the statement. Think positive.
I’ve heard a few schools talk about class in person. I’m pretty curious about the rest though. How will life outside of class be? Class in person is the most important but not enough for D to go to college this fall.
How can you possibly expect someone to say what the fall will be like this far ahead of time? Last year at this time, my son was living in a dorm and going to classes and no one suspected that anything would not be normal come fall. People are trying to make their best guesses, but until we get closer in time, no one knows for sure.
Watch for vaccine general availability and how effective the generally available vaccines are against B.1.351 and any other variants of concern.
If vaccine general availability occurs by early summer and there are no variants of concern that inflict severe COVID-19 on vaccinated people, then chances are high that colleges will go back (at least mostly) to pre-COVID-19 normal.
However, if that does not occur, it will be bad news for those hoping for a “normal” college experience.
That’s unfortunate. Both of my DS are “at school” and enjoying it despite the restrictions from COVID. ASU son is all virtual because of class size (CS classes are over 100 per class). ND son is all in person. He has the closest to ‘normal’ experience. They have both wanted to continue their education, even with COVID restrictions. Like or not, COVID will be around for “who knows how long” and they want to learn to live life even in those constraints.
I’d like for colleges to answer one question. And they can do it now I think. ---- If there are enough vaccinations for everyone, will you require vaccinations for students, staff and faculty and then plan on school as “normal”. That’s it. Pretty simple. I don’t expect them to know if there WILL be vaccines but I want to know how they are leaning if everyone is vaccinated.
Well, S19 is living life and had a great gap semester experience in the fall. But we aren’t paying for D21 to go to college as a freshman if she cannot be social and meet people and fully engage in college. She will gap and wait. And we aren’t in this for “who knows how long”. Fauci doesn’t say that. No one says that.
It’s not really simple at all when you consider how many groups are involved in the decision. Can emergency vaccines be required or do vaccines need full FDA approval first? That’s a question for their legal teams. If it is legal, is it something the trustees will approve? What about the administration, faculty, and staff? Some areas of the country may be able to get employee buy in much easier/faster than others. What if college employees elect to work remotely for another semester so they have time to see how effective the vaccine is?
If the vaccine is required, who carries the logistical and financial burden of making sure all international students get it? Is any vaccine okay or does it have to be one approved for use in the US?
The answer to some of those questions may depend on how long each vaccine is capable of protecting against the virus. I don’t believe we know that yet.
I think colleges need more information than they have now before they can make informed decisions.
Hm. So how is one supposed to choose a college by May 1 then? Not being snarky. Honestly asking how anyone is making a decision then.
Bowdoin has been also hinting that, with vaccines, things will be back to normal in fall so I don’t think schools have to jump to all of those hoops above. Surely, colleges have already been talking to whoever they need to talk to in order to decide if they will mandate vaccines.
I would assume that most people aren’t choosing their college based on what the school is currently saying their fall plans are. Yes you can look at what they did this year and then make reasonable inferences about what will happen next year given a range of assumptions about the future, but I don’t think it going to get any better than that. I hope you and your daughter are not waiting for definite word of what the fall will be like before May 1, because I don’t think you will get it.
Our plan is to deposit somewhere, and keep an eye on vaccine supply and effectiveness. If everything is going according to plan with the vaccine, then we send her. If the vaccine has it’s own plan, then we will adjust ours.
Schools can and will tell you anything right up to the point where you’re locked into a bad situation.
If you look at the 2021 parent thread, you’ll see a lot of us are taking fall Covid plans into consideration. What if one of D’s schools goes back to normal with vaccines being mandatory and another is still doing what they are doing now? Or maybe certain states will be imposing rules on their colleges but others don’t?
At the very least, I would like the college she chooses to say that gap years can be requested well into summer if their tentative fall plans change.
I’m anxious how to chose a school by May 1st due to the fact of no on campus visits so far (want to see 3 or 4). We are seeing admitted students virtual open houses, but it’s difficult to find in person admitted students days. May 1st is approaching and I’m getting a little panicked. I understand the colleges not wanting anyone outside on campus due to COVID. One year ago, I sat here excited about scheduled college visits for the beginning of April during spring break, then he had to apply sight unseen, and we still aren’t there. We can’t decide without setting foot on campus, in particular UMd which is huge and we really need a guided tour to manage it.
How did parents make a decision last year? I think they looked at affordable options and picked what looked like the best fit (however they chose to determine fit).
I wouldn’t rely on “hints” about what might happen in the fall. If my kid was choosing I’d want them to pick a college whose current practices seem fair to us, and I’d want the option of studying remotely or taking a gap year.
I doubt that vaccines will be required for school by the fall. Fauci said today that widespread vaccine accessibility probably won’t happen until May-June now.
Let’s hope the JNJ vaccine gets approval at the end of the month, and another company or two step up to help them manufacture more vaccines.
I dont know that you can require someone to take a vaccine that is not fully FDA approved to be on campus. I know many schools required a flu vaccine for this semester, but students also had the option to remain remote if they wanted to.
I can see in the fall that some required larger classes will have at least one section that is online for those that still dont want to come to campus, but that most students will be able to have in person classes. I also think that schools will be able to have everyone on campus, and that testing might still be a requirement but easier to do. Wehre we are as far as masks, and being able to “Visit” in dorms, will depend. At one point in the fall at my sons school you were allowed one visitor. (they went 2 weeks without any cases). I still think this will be school by school, just as K-12 is done district by district. and yes , I think the schools that have the best plans for in person fall by May 1st , and have done some in person this school year, will be at an advantage over others.
The crazy thing is that last year when parents were trying to make college decisions in early Spring, with May 1st deadline in mind, the pandemic just began. Hardly anyone in their wildest imaginations would ever think that Fall 2020 college would not be normal. My furthest was thinking was will the kids go back to school after spring break. Starting my son’s senior year this Fall, college was still not in my COVID worry radar. But now here we are. No generations of seniors before had to worry if a college would be “open” when making this important decision.
UVA seeing a rise in cases and increasing restrictions:
https://coronavirus.virginia.edu/updates/new-restrictions-take-effect-tonight
“I dont know that you can require someone to take a vaccine that is not fully FDA approved to be on campus.”
Amherst College has said although they have not made a final decision on requiring the COVID vaccine, they are “strongly considering” making it mandatory as soon as it is widely available. Several other residential colleges have made similar statements.