The government has cut all the red tape for testing and trials on medicine and vaccines. This will speed it along.
Also, SARS is a coronavirus and they have medicines that treat SARS…so they are trying to modify. I think it will be sooner rather than later.
We also have every top scientist on the global level working on cure, treatment and prevention.
There is no way this country is shut down for the entire summer. we will all be living in poverty by then.
A virologist who is on MSNBC often just said he cannot see getting on a plane until July 1 at the very earliest. No plan can be made at all until there’s huge numbers of testing and who knows when we can do that. So, no plan until wide spread testing and I’ve also heard a number of scientists say stay in place orders are likely to go an extra month. Ugh.
Cue the civil unrest.
I’m not saying this is going to be the model for the Fall, but I stumbled across this and thought it was interesting - Willamette (in Oregon) doesn’t seem to have made students go home. According to their website, at least, if you wanted to leave you could leave (and be refunded partial room and board), but if you wanted to stay (regardless of whether you were an International student or not), you could. Classes are online, but kids can be on campus (they’ve closed the campus to visitors), dining hall is open, etc. The way it reads on their website, students who stayed for Spring Break were eligible for this as well as students who left but stayed within a 25 mile radius. They have a long FAQ about it - questions about gym facilities, dining, mail services, and so on if you’re curious about the details of how they’re handling it. Seems maybe they closed the campus early enough (and are in a location where they CAN close it) that this is working for them ? (so far). https://willamette.edu/offices/wellness/coronavirus/index.html
@nichols51 interesting. I think most campuses are closed right now with states’ orders for everyone to work from home (that includes professors). On most LAC campuses, some international kids are there and they are separated into different dorms - not in the rooms they lived in for the fall - so they are much farther apart. Dining is take out only with limited hours. No gym open or labs or any other buildings.
Reading through the website, it just seems odd. I don’t think they are reporting if there are cases which is all kinds of wrong. And the virus can spread if people are asymptomatic they can still pass it around. I’d like to see an update on cases but it seems they are saying that’s “private” and aren’t answering questions about cases.
I read that in Europe, the residential colleges are the first place that will be reopened, as they are comprised of healthy young adults who don’t live with their parents and are thus the lowest risk group.
A warning sign to me about Fall is freshman orientation (normally held at the end of June and mid-July) will be virtual for my DD. The notification came this morning. Maybe a month makes a huge difference but with move-in scheduled a bit over a month from the second (now virtual) orientation date, it does signal to me that schools are preparing for a semester or more online.
Are young Europeans healthier than young Americans?
https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-young-americans-most-vulnerable-to-covid-19-are-people-of-color-and-the-working-class/ indicates that 32.4% of 18-24 year old Americans have some condition that is a risk factor for seriousness of COVID-19. This is lower than for other age groups, but still not particularly healthy.
Yes, I expect young Europeans are healthier than young Americans, but in any event, the death toll from COVID 19 for both groups is very low.
A friend who is a professor at Illinois State just posted that the all campus activities are cancelled until July 31. That doesn’t leave a lot of time to set up for fall semester on campus if they can even do it.
85% of the population does not have a serious response to CV. Once the curve if flattened and this is no longer considered an epidemic we will start to focus on and live for the 85%.
Right now we are protecting the most vulnerable among us. There will be a shift.
Boston University contingency planning for possibility of no Fall semester.
“The Recovery Plan recognizes the possibility that the beginning of the fall term may have to be delayed, and that a January reopening may be necessary, in which case summer 2021 academics would replace those now planned for fall 2020.”
https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/covid-19-recovery-plan/
^I know my kids would rather see a delayed start than an online fall semester.
Other schools have a two semester year, starting in January, as one possible option as well.
The downside of that is that students will be in school from January well into the summer. Then a fast turnaround for fall 2021 semester. Not ideal, but no option is.
One risk of this plan may be that schools implementing the January two semester start would lose students who do want to be in class in the fall…some schools will probably be online in the fall, some maybe in person…and many may be taking transfers very late in the process. Just speculating.
Large State Schools would probably go online whereas the smaller schools will have more flexibility. There is also a chance depending on where we are with COVID19, that schools could delay the Fall Semester after the Labor day weekend. Many schools do start in August.
The potential mess that schools are already accounting for is the reality for students not showing up altogether and enrolling at the local CC and reapplying to schools a year later. Also, there is no guarantee that this will go away by January of 2021. Many are predicting a second wave.
This explains why schools such as OSU is over admitting thousands of students. They are not able to predict how many will show up in the Fall. There are numerous reports that mention a 20 percent fallout from COVID19 at many of the large Flagships.
If possible, it would be preferable to take a gap year (and ideally defer enrollment at a school where admitted), rather than take classes at a CC and re-apply as a transfer…especially if one needs financial aid.
If a student is choosing to stay close to home with an affordable option such as an In-State School or a bordering State school (easy driving distance) with a killer scholarship, they might just stick it out and do whatever it takes. Perhaps even taking the minimum amount of credits in order to maintain the scholarships.
As mentioned before, not everyone will want to take a gap year due to the lack of jobs or abroad opportunities. So school is probably the best option for these kids, but affordability will be the key and many will not have that option if they already committed prior to COVID19. They will have to go to plan B.
Lots of parents will not be able to justify spending a lot of money or a premium for the privilege of attending XYZ school. Some might be forced to decide at the last minute due to financial concerns. They just don’t know what their situation will be in late July.
@ucbalumnus What are the figures for young Europeans?
Another downside to the late start plan, going into summer, is summer camps and other campus programs could be displaced for a 2nd year. => Loss of revenue to the school.
And of course, summer internships could be impacted for another year. Some students may have to graduate with no internship experience.
Our state university system has large universities (25,000+) near urban areas…small colleges (5000 and under) in very rural areas…and some that are in between.
I think there will be one blanket decision for the entire state system. I don’t think they will tell some to come back, and others not to. What about those kids attending a small, rural school…but live in an area with online learning?
Of course I could be wrong.
A student I know who attends an instate school already received an email indicating that school will not be “normal” again for at least 6-12 months. Not sure what this means, exactly, and not even sure it’s giving any new information.