@milgymfam I can’t believe any school can have some kids back and some kids not and then charge those parents the same tuition.
I found that option weird too- especially since they posed it basically as “assume your are among those chosen to be on campus” (that’s a bit of a paraphrase based on my memory when she showed me). If they’re gonna ask that particular question they need to see how students feel if they’re on both sides of that coin.
GW
To the George Washington University Community:
In recent weeks, the Back to Campus Initiative has brought together many in our GW community who are working with our faculty, staff, and students on an unprecedented level across the entire institution. I want to thank our faculty in particular, as they have continued to bring tremendous creativity and flexibility to these efforts. We are making progress toward our goal of returning to on-campus instruction and a residential academic experience this fall, and we are entering June with great forward momentum in our planning.
In moving expeditiously on our operations and academic planning efforts, it is clear that much is dependent on our anticipated fall calendar and modes of instruction. There is also, understandably, a degree of urgency to make decisions on these fronts to allow time for our community, and specifically our faculty, to prepare for classes—especially because we plan to use the changes coming this fall as an opportunity to enhance the GW learning experience for our students.
As we shared in the spring, we plan to begin in-person instruction for most students on Aug. 31. Assuming this remains so, we have now determined that after Thanksgiving break, classes for most students will move to remote instruction until the end of the semester.
This decision was made based on the best available science and guided by our safety, public health, and medical experts, as well as through broad collaboration with academic leadership, faculty representatives, students, and staff to account for the diverse needs of our community. Most importantly, this approach will help prevent any potential spread of COVID-19 that could have been caused by large numbers of our community members traveling for the holiday and then returning to campus.
While we are still working to provide more information on the implications of this adjusted schedule, some of the most important details we have now include:
Remote instruction following Thanksgiving will last two weeks.
Provost Blake is encouraging faculty to use the post-Thanksgiving period as a unique opportunity to conclude the semester with an innovative online experience for students while allowing major exams assessing coursework to take place preceding Thanksgiving break in response to student feedback about exam environment.
Classes will be held on Labor Day and Fall Break will be canceled to allow for additional in-person instruction time, which will also promote safety in reducing movement to and from our campuses during another common time for travel.
Alternative schedules that meet professional accreditation requirements will be in place for the School of Nursing, College of Professional Studies, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, and GW Law. These students will receive more information from their schools soon.
Updated course design is already well underway. Aided by the expertise of a robust team from GW Libraries and Academic Innovation (LAI), our faculty is imagining a semester of new opportunities to elevate the GW classroom experience. We are preparing for all classes to incorporate the flexibility necessary for students to be in person or online for various amounts of time this fall while still making uninterrupted progress toward their credits and degrees.
In the coming days, Provost Blake will share additional guidance with faculty members, including resources, such as LAI’s FLEX Camps, for faculty adjusting syllabi or preparing for online learning with best-in-class instructional methods and technology. For those who cannot teach on campus, we will provide a process to request accommodation.
For our residential students, we also will provide more information soon on a process for requesting to remain on campus through the end of the semester.
While we are cautiously optimistic about our ability to implement these adjustments to the fall calendar, please know that as always this decision is subject to change based on the evolution of the pandemic; the recommendations of our experts and D.C., regional, and federal requirements and guidance; and any additional steps we believe are necessary to support the health, safety, and care of the university community.
Other planning underway
Although this is an important step forward for our fall planning efforts, it is far from the only decision before us in order to return to campus. As we noted recently, fall planning is a massive undertaking, and it is ongoing across many areas.
Chief among our priorities is establishing the proper protocols for testing, contact tracing, and quarantining, as well as determining guidelines for masks, sanitizing, and social distancing. Given the nature of this pandemic, we do expect that there will be confirmed COVID-19 cases in our community this fall, and our medical and public health faculty and leadership are preparing comprehensive plans to manage our response. We also are establishing safety criteria that will guide our decisions, once we are back on campus, through scenarios with varying degrees of severity of the virus’s spread.
Above all, we remain focused on the health and safety of all members of our community, especially those who are more vulnerable to complications from the virus. Our operations teams have documented hundreds of action items that they are now prioritizing to prepare campus for our new COVID-19 reality and to safely welcome our community back. This has included walk-throughs of campus spaces to begin to visualize and plan for how we will implement social distancing in spaces throughout the university.
I understand that many of your questions may still be unanswered, but we felt it important to provide the information we have at this time, knowing many are anxiously awaiting any news on the fall. I want to thank those of you who have spent time offering some very helpful feedback on fall planning—please, keep it coming.
We will continue to update you regularly, and we hope to have more comprehensive fall plans later this month. Stay safe, stay well, and Raise High!
Sincerely,
?
Thomas J. LeBlanc
So it seems that many schools are starting early and finishing up with finals online. As far as I can tell, this is driven primarily by preemptive planning for a second wave. So, this raises a couple of questions: will students be required to leave campus over the new winter break or will campus facilities remain open? Also, does that mean that fall semester will be totally online?
It’s interesting that GWU isn’t doing that. They’re starting early, having exams in person before Thanksgiving, but that’s not the end of the semester.
@jagrren – your kind comments are much appreciated. And yes, the drinking in response has be kept under strict control! 
For Yale, they have indicated that if fall is in person (not yet finalized on that decision yet), the residences will close during the week of Thanksgiving with accommodations for students who are unable to return home, as was the case when campus closed abruptly this spring.
We got a pretty big update on planning for fall today from Amherst College.
- They will render a final decision on fall classes and notify us of their plans in late June or early July.
- Classes will start August 24 instead of September 8. Classes will conclude by Thanksgiving Break, and Reading Period (a study period after the end of classes and before finals) + Finals will be conducted remotely after the break.
- Some classes and other activities (including extracurriculars) will be hosted outdoors; the college has ordered 20 tents equipped with power and teaching technologies to assist in this goal.
- Classes with enrollments of 35 or more will occur remotely, regardless of whether students are on-campus.
- The college has rejected the idea of both the Beloit model and the three-semester model, opting instead for the traditional two-semester model. While I am pleased with this news, I am rather surprised that the college has rejected the Beloit model, as it means the colleges within the Five College Consortium will not be on similar academic calendars/models for the 2020-2021 academic year.
- There will also be an intensive January term, where students will take one class over the course of a month. Very happy with this, although I am very (pleasantly) surprised; I thought for sure that Interterm would be cancelled and we would be unable to return until the start of spring semester, given that Winter Study had been cancelled at Williams.
- There is also a proposal that students would take three instead of four courses in a semester this year (would probably be optional to drop a class and not forced, because 1) that is how Williams is doing it and 2) it would be problematic to charge students the same tuition for less instruction).
- There will be "a redesigned food service model with grab-and-go satellite facilities," "redesigned classrooms in collaboration with the registrar, buffer-capacity housing for isolation and quarantine, all necessary PPE and supplies, enhanced HVAC air flow in campus buildings, and the design and installation of physical barriers to promote social distancing".
- All students, faculty, and staff will be given the option of continuing their education/work remotely.
@ChemAM wrote:
That’s a big tell for NESCAC sports cuz where else would Amherst have room for twenty tents but on an athletic field?
That’s something my daughter is wondering as well. Her school has been unclear so far about whether they will be asked to leave campus for Thanksgiving and not come back until Spring semester starts or if they will be allowed to stay on campus if they choose. She thinks that if you are allowed to stay on campus over Thanksgiving through finals that a lot of her friends will choose to do that instead of going home and staying home.
@circuitrider Actually, the Amherst campus has a lot of empty space; the majority of our 1,000 acre campus is unoccupied, as a matter of fact. However, they have said fall sports are “highly unlikely” anyway. I think regardless, fall sports are not happening.
@ChemAM wrote:
I’m quite familiar with the Amherst campus. Unless they are planning an holding classes in a nature preserve - the tents are going to be on the football field. 
@circuitrider Doesn’t that eliminate the purpose of social distancing if all 20 tents are on the football field? Why not also put some on the soccer field? Why not put some near the nature preserve?
Yes, these schools are all on semester system and they’re betting that a second wave, if it comes, won’t start in early fall. They’ll attempt to have in-person classes before Thanksgiving and then finish their fall semesters online. Their spring semesters often don’t start until mid-to-late January. They’re unlikely to schedule anything between the two semesters next January, so their campuses will almost certainly be closed for most of these schools. If December is dicey, January wouldn’t be any better.
For schools on quarter system, the winter break is typically much shorter and a few of them may be able to keep their campuses open (but without services) during the break.
I’m in NJ, and everyone is wearing masks in grocery stores because it is required.
@ChemAM wrote:
I guess it depends how far you would have to walk
I’m in a city that hasn’t even been that hard hit, and everyone is wearing masks because they’re required – and because they don’t want to look like jerks.
Im confused about the purpose of the tents at Amherst. Given that this is in MA and classes will be going until the end of November, it seems like the tents must have walls and methods of heating, so this isn’t really outdoors, right? So is this because a tent would be bigger than a regular classroom and they can space the desks further apart?
^Oh, I dunno. Would it be that inconvenient to wear jackets in class?
@ChemAm, did they ever build a space with an indoor track? DS was recruited by Amherst for XC / track, back in 2010 but it was a real turnoff when the coach showed him where the kids ran in the winter - in an old building housing a volleyball court. The coach would put down rubber matting around the perimeter of the room. It was bizarre. That was one reason DS didn’t attend the school.