The nature of math major courses changes to become much more proof and theory intensive at the junior/senior level. Some students find these types of math courses much more difficult than the frosh/soph level math courses. So if this past semester was his first semester taking courses like abstract algebra, proof-intensive linear algebra, or real analysis, that may be the more likely source of his difficulties.
@socaldad2002 Your student has committed to being a residential student which is a luxury. Your student could have attended a school closer to commuting distance or chosen distance learning. Your family felt the value of being on campus was worth the cost. A residential college is a luxury experience regardless of how much value you see in it.
Students in a dorm are going to be at greater risk due to viral spread in a close environment. Just like dorm and spacing varies at colleges it does on cruise lines but both will have easy spread.
Yes, classroom (or lab) size is often the main constraint on class size, although some types of classes (e.g. English composition, foreign language skills) tend to have their own limitations based on the nature of the material and method of instruction. Of course, there can also be limitations based on out-of-class instructional work such as grading assignments, projects, and tests.
Some colleges are ranking gamers and prefer class size limits of 19, 29, 39, or 49 (the maximum size for each class size bucket for ranking purposes) over other class size limits.
However, if the remaining 4th year courses are relatively esoteric upper level ones that may be unique to the college, then it may be harder to find transferable courses elsewhere to cover them, even without senior residency requirements. After all, the *academic/i differentiation between colleges is potentially greater at the upper levels of course work, since the variety and content of possible and actual courses is greater at the upper levels than at the lower levels where many of the possible and actual courses at many colleges tend to be much more similar in content.
These next covid-semesters will be far from perfect. Students seeking the perfect schedule need to be introduced to the realities of going to school during a pandemic. Actually, I think schools should (will?) pare down their schedules to make things easier for all involved.
Investing in technology is a long term item and many schools put it off for “more important” reasons. They now find that that thinking may have been flawed. Covid continues to highlight weaknesses in our systems.
Some institutions are offering online instruction “bootcamps” this summer for faculty. Since contractually, they cannot mandate it, they are offering financial incentives (for example, my university is paying us the equivalent of a one-credit independent study and giving us a service documentation letter for the dossier).
I think the key is in the last sentence of what you quoted, “This means that a full reopening of most colleges in the fall almost certainly won’t happen.” We pretty much already know that most of them will not have a “full reopening.” There will be some adjustments. I think most of them will be open in some fashion.
College dining halls will be buying food from the commercial / restaurant supply chain that is probably oversupplied right now, so they may not face the same kind of shortages that households are finding in grocery stores.
But then much of the cost of restaurant and food service is in labor. Table service may require more labor than self-serve buffet.
By this definition, central heat is a luxury good since you can survive the Chicago winter by wearing layers, like an Eskimo. Eating anything but rice and beans (the cheapest nutritionally complete meal) is a luxury too, right? Can we please stop with the “luxury shaming” of people who make different choices than we do?
Without putting words in her mouth, I think @homerdog and her family (like some others on this thread) have decided to spend the extra disposable income they have on an experience that they believe their children will enjoy and will make them better people - residential LAC’s. I suppose she could also have blown it on a fancy car or exotic vacations, but this where she has decided to put her money. Good on her.
However, being able to choose such a college where living on campus is the norm is a luxury, compared to the common college experience of commuting to a local college from where one lived before college. In California, the predominantly commuter CSU system has about twice the undergraduate enrollment as the predominantly residential UC system (though it is mostly just frosh on campus), and the community colleges have more students than both combined.
That may very well be the case. But if you couldn’t drive your fancy car because you had to shelter in place or your exotic vacation was disrupted by coronavirus, constantly complaining about it and demanding a refund (or worse, telling the providers of those services that they had to go above and beyond to make it up to you) would color many people’s opinion of you. Much better to adjust your expectations and have a story to tell later on about how you made the best of it.
Brown just announced cutting eleven varsity sports and making them club. I don’t remember them all but all XC and track was cut as well and men’s and women’s golf. S19 read me the story and now I can’t find it. He’s not sure if the decision is Covid related. He thought it said the money was being moved to other sports. Odd timing
Some houses in the US (including places where it gets cold) today do not have central heat (though they may have wall heaters).
In the Chicago area, you probably want to ask the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi people how their ancestors lived through winters. The Alaska Natives may have different ideas about what temperatures they need to live with.
"Brown will cease training, competition and operations at the varsity level for men’s and women’s fencing; men’s and women’s golf; women’s skiing; men’s and women’s squash; women’s equestrian; and men’s track, field and cross country (which are three varsity sports under federal Title IX rules governing access to opportunities in sports) said the University.
Club coed sailing and club women’s sailing will each transition to varsity status."
I wonder if the rest of the Ivy League schools will follow suit?
Judging by the level of mask and social distancing compliance in non-hot spot areas of the country, the 20% would appear to be low.
Honestly, the non-compliance crowd is only part of the problem with a Covid vaccine. The people willing to comply, but afraid of the potential health implications from injecting a hastily approved vaccine is another issue all together.
@shuttlebus do you have the rest of the Brown article? S19 said that the decision was based on a review Brown did in the 2018-2019 school year and Brown made the decision to just move funding around to give other sports more. He didn’t think it was a Covid-related decision.