So agree with this. Hybrid learning is here to stay for some extent. I also dislike “your college years will be the best years of your life”. Well, for many kids it’s not.
MIT only has seniors on campus in the fall (as well as grad students). They will be testing everyone (staff, grad and undergrads) twice weekly, running around 2,000 tests per day currently.
Positivity rate is <0.1% thus far.
They do 2000 tests per day for just 1/4 of the undergrad student population and staff? Did they not do online for grad students? I thought all/most grad schools went online for colleges that didn’t welcome back undergrads.
Many grad students are back, and everyone needs to be tested to be able to access campus. Precise frequency is somewhat situation-dependent:
"Note: COVID-19 viral testing is now required for anyone who routinely accesses campus or is living on campus in MIT residence halls. If you access campus more frequently, you will be tested more frequently. If you:
- Live in an MIT residence hall — you will be tested at least twice weekly, no more than every 3-4 days.
- Are on campus 4 days a week or more — you will be tested at least twice weekly, no more than every 3-4 days
- Are on campus 1–3 days a week — you will be tested at least once a week.
- Are on campus only once in a while — you will need to be tested within 7 days before accessing campus. You won’t be able to access campus without being tested, so plan ahead."
It’s all electronically tied into MIT ID. Ne testing - no building access.
So they allowed grad students to come back in person, but not most undergrad. I would think the profs would be just as concerned/more concerned about grad students spreading the virus to them in the classroom (many coming from homes with family members working in various places) than undergrads. I believe all of Harvard grad/professional schools are all online. Interesting.
Many grad students need access to labs, and those are reopening (with new restrictions in place, of course).
But classes are online.
“All MIT activities that can be remote must be remote.”
D19 was tested last Monday and getting tested again today…so that’s 3x since move in on 8/11 that Duke has tested her. Lots of virtual social group meetings, nothing sponsored by the University is in person except classes yet. As the greek housing on campus used to be comprised of sections of residence halls and such living groups were disbanded with the housing de-densification, some chose to live off campus together in groups but admin is working with the local apartment owners to monitor. D said there have been some off campus parties but she’s staying away as is her friend group. I’m sure the school is glad it didn’t have fraternity houses to start with. Also helps that the local bars are closed right now (there are a few 18 and over clubs that are quite popular with undergrads for late night fun, but not this semester). Rush is normally 2nd semester but my D said some sororities have already disbanded. Her sorority told her not to pay semester dues yet. Not sure Greek life will survive Covid at Duke but even my D is ok with that as she doesn’t think it necessarily fits the culture of the school. Duke being able to triumph over nearby UNC and NC State seems to be a badge of honor among the students, even if the competition is Covid policy compliance instead of basketball…
It looks like 2 students tested positive at Wesleyan toward the end of Arrival Week which has just ended. That translates to a .078% infection rate for 2,960 total tests. What is unclear is whether they involved students who were tested once or whether it was their second time being tested while on campus. I guess it will be a moot point from here on out since everyone will have been tested at least once.
That’s incorrect. While most Harvard professional schools are entirely or mostly online, the graduate school in A&S isn’t. In fact, many have already return to campus. This is also true in almost all research universities.
Are they considered staff or are they considered students? Or, are they some hybrid status in-between the two?
Heard from a friend (so maybe some hearsay) whose S just transferred to Colorado College that 600 of the 800 students on campus are locked down in 3 dorms for 14 days because of 10 positive kids. One hour outside each day otherwise in their rooms. Her S is coming home. Seems excessive for the number of positive students.
Harvard Business School is also mostly in person, as students would not attend online. Even so I believe they cleared their wait list and remain underenrolled.
My daughter has a few friends there. I know they quarantined the whole dorm when one student was positive the day after move in. If there policy is to shut down the entire dorm for each positive, your hearsay makes sense.
Graduate students funding (tuition plus living stipend) typically includes teaching/research assistanships.
Graduate students aren’t considered staff, even though most of them live off campus and many with their families. Their return to campus is generally governed by a separate policy that includes rules for the labs and offices. The classes are mostly online for those graduate students who still take classes.
@TS0104 , right now my son is leaning toward staying at home, given how unappealing the campus environment is looking. He feels it’s not a big deal in the grand scheme of things if leaving home is delayed by one term, or even a year. He’s still committed to working toward his degree. At home, he’s got HS friends whose colleges are not hosting freshmen or any students, he’s got the best possible year-round weather (San Diego) for outdoor activities and socializing, and since he’s attending a state school, who knows, he may be able to connect with some local college classmates who are also staying home.
Classes at UC-Davis don’t start until Sept. 30 and will definitely be all remote for the first quarter at the very least. The housing department expects to have availability in the winter, so he could reapply for winter and/or spring housing.
My husband and I attended a LAC, so there was some disappointment when our son decided that type of experience wasn’t for him, and now there’s disappointment again that he won’t have a residential college experience at all, at least at first. But, as other posters have mentioned, that’s our problem not his.
I disagree. My freshman who is at home has two older sisiters, and has visited them and facetimed them and has a pretty good idea of what the freshman experience is.
Our good friends’ kid got into Harvard Law (remote this year) off the WL. Apparently they had fairly significant deferrals and went to waitlist even for undergrads.
MIT, OTOH, had record yield and few deferrals (despite freshman fall semester being remote), so no undergrads got in from WL.
https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/we-will-not-be-taking-anyone-from-the-wait-list-this-year
What happened at Colorado College with the first quarantined dorm, according to the college, is that a few students tested positive, but the entire dorm hadn’t been following social distancing rules so everybody had to be quarantined.
Then students from the other two dorms tested positive, so those dorms were also quarantined.
@taverngirl Is Quinnipiac testing the off campus students too?