While it may be trivial compared to the health and economic implications, I wonder about the social implications for students, particularly freshmen, trying to find their way in this new age of social distancing. I also can’t imagine how it would work outside of the classroom or other controlled environments.
I think social distancing, if actually adhered to for months at a time, is going to have profound costs in terms of mental health, emotional well-being, and community. I’m not suggesting it’s unnecessary, but I am worried it will make the transition to college that much more difficult. I guess six feet apart is better than online, but I wonder how schools will handle this aspect in the fall.
I don’t know where you all are getting the cost for testing. In Bowdoin’s last call, they made a comment about how testing is getting “more plentiful, less expensive, and more accurate” as time goes on and they felt good about having enough testing after meeting with public health authorities in Maine. It’s only May. We have three months until mid-August.
There is so much unknown about the Fall. DS20 is looking forward to go away to college and I pray that he will still be able to have that experience safely.
@TrendaLeigh I’m not sure where you live but, even here in Illinois which is one of the most closed of states, kids are getting together in small groups and finding safe-ish ways to socialize. As for college kids, they aren’t going to be sitting in their singles and not meeting anyone. Some colleges I’ve checked are having orientation online but some are still planning on doing it in person. Obviously it will look different than usual but these schools know the residential life is important and will give it their best to make sure there’s life outside of class. On top of that, kids are going to mingle in hallways, meet in classes if they meet in person, attend club meetings (with masks). I dare say there will be parties even if it’s not quite the right thing to do. It’s not going to be normal and I also think it will be unknown how it will look. Heck, it’s unknown how it will look for returning students too. But I get that they may already have friends and can make plans to meet up with them to hang out or study.
Going back to his college social life is definitely a part of why S19 wants to go back. He thinks they will still get together to hang out quite a bit. Even in Maine, they’ve got a good two months (maybe more) where it’s really nice weather and I bet the school will plan plenty of outdoor events and kids will be out there on their own hanging in hammocks, throwing frisbees, and studying on blankets. It’s not like they’ll all be locked up in their rooms.
Frequent testing of every student on campus? Not likely. No way with the nasal swab. I can’t imagine weekly or even monthly testing of every student on a large campus, say 30k students. That’s a lot of manpower do time, not just a lot of testing kits.
My son had a PCR test last Saturday. He works in a grocery store and came up sick on Friday with something that best fits the description of tonsillitis so he notified his employer. Our state is having weekend testing blitzes so he called, got an appointment and got tested Saturday. I don’t think he will be volunteering for a lot of nasal swabs but he didn’t seem traumatized by it either. He hadn’t realized it would be both nostrils, lol. He got his negative results today (six days after the test). The entire state seems to be running 4-6000 tests per day currently. If all three state universities were testing large portions of the student body every week, that’s far more tests. I don’t see it happening. They’ll be testing those with symptoms, or exposed, not the entire student body.
So they aren’t aiming to test 100% weekly. They are looking at 70-75% monthly. I am not sure but I would assume they wouldn’t keep testing someone who had antibodies.
I’ve even read about testing for companies that involves everyone putting their saliva into one vial (ew I know but I think there’s some un-gross way they do it). Then they run the test and see if there’s any virus there. If not, all good. If yes, they they will do a quick test on all employees. There will be quick tests by fall, no? Colleges could do something like this at least by dorm. I don’t know. I just think we have no idea what kind of tests are coming down the pike. Colleges are working to get updates on this kind of stuff ALL of the time.
I’m not statistician, but a plan that test’s 21,000 of 30,000 students per month seems like throwing money at a problem to provide the appearance of safety more than anything else.
California is doing “almost” 60000 tests per day in these days. The goal for lifting stay-at-home order is 60000-80000 tests per day. There are some counties giving a free testing for all who request without any symptoms. With much more testing, confirmed cases are still going up but death and hospitalization (and ICU) cases are going down. By mid June, UCs, especially Berkeley should be able to decide a fall campus plan starting in mid August. Other UCs are in quarter system, they have an extra 1 month to plan and prepare for 2020-2021.
More free testing widely available (for people with / without symptoms), universities can ask all in-coming / returning students a test result / proof a few weeks before opening a campus. If students can not afford a cost-related test, schools should give them a reimbursement for testing. I know those students may catch a virus somewhere before getting into a campus but knowing the result will give enough ideas for schools and students to start fall semester on-campus. Follow-up testing at campuses maybe possible or impossible depending on a size of school and budget but at least students who has any symptoms and any roommates should get tested during a semester.
I honestly think that my son’s small school cannot come up with all single dorm room or quarantine rooms. I am afraid of getting charged any extra costs if my
Oops, I hit a button accidentally… I would like to know if “possible extra costs” for quarantine case if my son’s school opens a campus.
My son’s university heath insurance plan/fee for 2020-2021 is still not announced yet. We had him covered by our existing private health plan (we aren’t eligible for employed covered health plan) which is “premium” so $700/year more expensive than his university heath plan for 2019-2020. We need to know all costs to decide which health insurance plan makes more sense in this pandemic to send a student back to a campus.
The Florida state system won’t reach a decision for overall fall reopening until after June 23rd, so having athletes back for a few weeks would be perhaps a good “test run” before any final decisions are made.
I haven’t figured out how they are funding it but FAMU is running a test site from their stadium and all their testing is free for those who want tests. I’m guessing the state is funding it? I think I also mentioned upthread that FSU is exploring the option of having a testing lab right on campus prior to their fall reopening and this seems like a viable option given what FAMU is already doing. President Thrasher indicated their hope is to get an 8 hour turnaround for each test. I can see universities like UCSD, FSU, and others with the requisite facilities and resources being able to conduct more widespread testing of their own university populations. Other schools, without as many resources, probably not.
They’re not walking away from the $120 million because colleges spend almost all of the money they bring in so there is no extra. They lost millions in the spring semester, have extra costs fall semester, and high OOS melt, so that $120 million is important.
Well, it’s a reminder that there is another side to all of this, the professoriate which, outside of a few posters on this thread, has been largely silent. I mean, right now, I hear a lot of governors and university presidents talking about plans for a “hybrid” system of live and online classes. But, I wonder if we are prepared for a system which trades high rates of exposure between undergraduates for virtually all online course work (with possible exceptions for labs where masks and gloves may well presage the new normal for the profession?)
Another testament to the great financial stress COVID-19 has brought to colleges: the Princeton Sociology department will not be admitting new graduate students for the 2021 admissions cycle; says they have to focus on making sure there are enough resources for current students. Crazy considering Princeton has the highest endowment-per-student of any college in the country, with a $26.1 Billion endowment for 8,374 total students (undergraduates and graduates), bringing their endowment-per-student to over $3.1 Million per student.