@twogirls It does seem that groups of schools will almost have to make the same decisions - either by conference or by system. I suppose schools in the same conference could make different decisions if all sports are cancelled.
@TomSrOfBoston Thanks for posting that BU info. That’s the kind of stuff I want to see. Many colleges still have “fall on campus” as their expectation. I don’t really get that. Behind the scenes, all schools must be making contingency plans but maybe some are just working harder at being more creative then just “go online”.
This makes the second wave very likely. (NYT)
We may be one of of few, but S20 says he would be completely fine with fall being online. While online learning is far from optimal for some majors, many students can still gain the necessary knowledge online. And yes, we belong to the “College is about learning and preparing for a job” category. S20 has successfully taken many online courses and doesn’t see online learning as a substandard form of education. With enough planning, colleges can figure out a way to postpone labs and other classes where face-to-face learning is critical.
But most professors are not “healthy young Americans.” Who will be teaching?
schools could plan for online learning, but since things change all the time, maybe at times in the semester allow the kids to live on campus with the idea that at some point they may need to move out. I think the learning aspects can be done for some classes online, but harder for lab/art/etc. Part of my childrens experience is being in their orgs, and around their peers. At one point S19’s college was going online and allowing kids to stay on campus if they chose, and having certain labs and studios open. (yeah this plan lasted 3 days). But some type of hybrid solution might be the best. I dont like the BU option because that leaves a long time between classes that need sequence for upper classmen. I really think its too soon for anyone to make any decision right now about the fall.
@sdl0625 I think it’s the concern that they will need to move kids out mid-semester that will keep schools online. It was a logistical nightmare for some schools. Not every student can easily vacate and fly home. I cannot see any school eager to repeat that.
Maybe they do online classes but still allow kids to reside as long as possible on campus if their chose ? I dont have answers. I know that my oldest has had Flu , STrep, and Mono while at college, While none of these have the same mortality rate, maybe we will have treatments that will put Covid-19 in a less risky category. I think in lieu of a vaccine, which may not even work or be available for a while, a treatment that helps prevent the use of ICU or death for most people might be what brings everyone back. Its only been a couple months so far and Aug is another 4 months from now. If I knew that if any of my family members got this, could get tested, and then treated, I would be willing to take more risks.
Speaking of logistical nightmare, i wonder when all the food orders must be placed to feed the 1000s of students. What does a university dining services do with food for 10,000 and no one shows?
D19 has already had one prof announce her retirement. She’s been teaching for 30 years and just decided now is a good time to retire.
Colleges will know in advance and vendors will be notified ahead of time. Food will not get wasted, but the supplier’s bottom lines will. Which brings us back to the economics of having to move these kids out in case there is a second wave. This has been a logistical nightmare and having to issue refunds has been catastrophic for many many schools.
I suspect early retirement will happen with some healthcare workers. I know my wife has talked about it. I think they’re also preparing for a 2nd wave in the summer. No proof but I’m just getting bits and pieces. My wife doesn’t want to talk about work these days.
We had our online webinar yesterday for the parents of new students at Georgia Tech. They’re still planning to be on-campus in the fall. I’m hopeful but I still think it’s wishful thinking.
Many professors should retire. That is a good thing. Tenured Academia is one of the few areas without mandatory retirement, and it causes many problems for younger faculty trying to get hired.
Here’s one take on campuses being closed in the fall and how colleges need to prepare now:
https://diverseeducation.com/article/172578/
"But as Davis-Blake [President of Bentley Univ] pointed out, an online fall semester would pose a new challenge: on-boarding a first-year class amidst the pandemic.
University leaders are asking themselves, “How do you orient students when you’re not face to face?” she said. “What can you do over the summer to bring students in?”
She’s thinking through a number of options – virtual tours, group chats for new students, or even small regional group gatherings, if they’re safe when the semester starts.
Preparing for the possibility of a fall semester online, “it’s almost as if you’re building a university from the ground up,” Davis-Blake said. For colleges, the key is “thinking about what is an important part of your campus experience? And [then] trying to bring that forward.”
But I don’t think it’d be necessary to move everyone out, if there’s a second wave in the fall. say the 2nd wave comes in October. There’s a long time between October and May. Students can leave their stuff on campus and come back to campus eventually to finish out the year. The thing with this first wave was that they were coming close to the end of the school year (some closer than others, depending on their schedule). So it made sense to just send everyone home early.
Even if colleges are open for students in the fall what about housing on campus? The old, mostly freshman, resdience halls with double rooms and a single pair of common lavatories on each floor would be a major problem. Even the newer style of two double rooms sharing a common bathroom would not be good. And few college towns, even major cities, could handle everyone wanting an off campus apartment.
Large lecture with hundreds of students? More likely the lectures will be online and there will be more small discussion sections in a classroom.
If things start to open up in the next few weeks, seems like orientation could be more doable even that full on-campus fall classes. Because there are no summer camps going on, schools have more dorms available to house students for orientation, so could spread them out. Choose bigger rooms and smaller groups for sessions. Just seems like there’d be a way to do orientation. Of course, depends on things opening up a bit, including air travel.
My D20 just got notice that orientation will be online, she was supposed to go on June 22. I am really trying to be hopeful that kids will be able to return to campus this fall, but I think that they will bring kids back in January.
If schools can’t open in the fall there will be layoffs. I think schools that are losing a substantial amount of money are going to have to cut more than office assistants and a few associate deans to get out of the red. If I were a faculty member with a 1 or 2 year contract, I’d be concerned. And if I had a kid getting ready to commit to a school, I’d be checking the faculty lists of various departments to see how many visitors, adjuncts, and lecturers they depend on.
One thing that is not mentioned much is that in small college towns, students are the lifeblood of the town. If students are back at their parent’s home, doing online sessions currently, online in the summer and real possibility of online in the fall, that means the Ann Arbor, Chapel Hill, Davis, etc. are losing 90+% of their revenue, how do these towns survive for 9 months, they need 10s of thousands of students on campus to keep them afloat?
All of these orientations moving to online do not bode well for the June SAT.