What is their definition of “on-campus”? Everything else that I have seen indicates that college students living in campus-run dorms or other campus-run housing is a much lower percentage than 46%. However, if all students living near campus specifically for the purpose of attending college are counted as “on-campus”, that can raise the percentage.
RIT- no new cases in the 14 days! No, they are not doing enough student testing I believe, but they are testing the wastewater of all the dorms , including on campus apartments. So I guess the unknown is the off campus students, but if they were having an outbreak, wouldnt it spread to the students who live on campus as well (and then show up in the wastewater?)
I do think having low cases in the community around it also helps (Rochester NY has maybe 20 cases a day total lately)
Amherst’s semester has gone extremely well. They did have another positive test at the beginning of this week, however, it was revealed to be a persistent positive (this student tested positive in mid-August), and in two tests shortly after this one, he tested negative both times. In other words, Amherst’s last true case was in late August, and they are testing everyone three times a week.
There was a Zoom meeting for on-campus students last night, and they revealed that since it is getting colder, they are going to allow students to gather in the Powerhouse and Ford Hall. Many are pushing for students to be allowed in others’ residence halls, and they are undecided on that.
However, some shocking news that came: despite how well their semester has gone so far, and how well the other NESCACs are doing with all students back, they still insist upon having all students in singles and maintaining what they deem to be an “appropriate student-to-bathroom ratio” in Spring 2021. They said they think inviting all students back for Spring 2021 is unlikely, based on “what scientists are saying” (presumably meaning when a vaccine is likely to come). However, they said they do anticipate inviting back more students for Spring 2021 than they did for Fall 2020 (probably because less students who were invited back than anticipated chose to return for Fall 2020; they roughly 65% of students to return, and got just over 50%). Since 2.5 classes (freshmen, sophomores, half of seniors) were invited back for Fall 2020 (in addition to international students, all transfer students and disadvantaged students), I would presume this means they intend to invite back 3 classes (juniors, seniors, one other class) for Spring 2021 (in addition to international students, all transfer students, and disadvantaged students). They reiterated that juniors, seniors, and (obviously) international students + disadvantaged students + transfer students will be prioritized for spring.
Presuming my theory is correct, I’m not sure whether they would pick freshmen or sophomores, because on one hand, freshmen have just started their college career; on the other hand, sophomores (along with the upperclassmen) have already lost half of a semester and freshmen are the only class which has not been forced to do fully remote learning at any point, plus it makes more sense to pair sophomores with juniors and seniors as a group than freshmen with juniors and seniors. Back in early July, when Amherst provided their rationale for their decision on fall semester, they said that they made their decision because freshmen greatly benefit from having on-campus support their first semester, and juniors + seniors have already declared a major while sophomores are often stressed to declare a major, while juniors and seniors have already declared AND have access to many resources one gets after declaring that undeclared sophomores don’t have. They went as far as to say they thought that sophomore year was the most stressful in many ways. Sophomores would be even more stressed in that regard second semester, so that may be a reason for them to pick sophomores over freshmen, if they invite back three classes.
Honestly, I am very surprised that they wouldn’t invite everyone back for spring, given how tremendously fall has gone both at Amherst and for other NESCACs which have invited all students back. My D is a sophomore but luckily is an RA, so she gets to stay for spring either way. They also said all this is contingent upon the rest of the semester going well.
@RosePetal35 any clue as to when Amherst will announce which classes will be invited to campus for spring?
This is a very good point. Lots of off campus I have seen is like 2 blocks away from campus.
@homerdog They said an official announcement/decision will come between the beginning and middle of November.
As a reference point, Stanford has freshmen and sophomores for the fall quarter only, Juniors and Seniors winter and spring. So would make sense to allow seniors back for spring graduation and have freshmen leave after having one semester.
My employer just announced a “2-week pause” in in-person instruction. All classes will move online temporarily. So I’m glad I decided to teach online anyway because my classes will not be disrupted.
The truth is, all across the country there are colleges just like this that have invited all students back and are doing just fine. My son’s is one of them. He only has one class online, rest are in person. All of his classes have an online option just in case, because there are kids who have had to quarantine. Clubs still meet both virtually and in-person (with social distancing). Masks are worn.Dining is open and many students use outside seating.He’s having a great time in spite of the restrictions. I hear such doom and gloom which honestly makes me glad he’s not in a top 100 school. Sometimes I think few want to hear the positive stories because it makes them feel regret of their own student’s restricted online experience. There’s the fear of missing out.
I’ll add Bucknell to the list of schools that are doing well. Today is the end of their 7th week of classes, so halfway through. Classes end Nov.20, so still a ways to go but fingers crossed that they will get there. Here’s their story:
All students were invited back and had to have 2 negative COVID tests before gaining access to campus. The only de-densification was the elimination of triples and quads in traditional residence halls. Approximately 6% of the freshman class and 9% overall chose to go remote. There was no significant change to the number of gap years granted for freshman – the deadline to apply was extended, but the usual requirements were not waived. The freshman class is the largest in school history.
At this time there are no active COVID cases and the last positive was on Sept. 19. There have been a total of 18 cases – 14 students and 4 faculty/staff since students arrived on campus. All students are tested approximately every 10 days. There was no quarantine when students arrived on campus. Note, the university bookstore is not on campus. Students are required to remain within a 30 mile radius of Bucknell unless they have dean’s permission to go beyond at which point there is a quarantine process upon return.
Approximately 65% of class sections are F2F only, 22% remote only, and the remainder are blended (F2F+remote – kids on campus are F2F and those off are remote). The goal was to get most students having two F2F classes and 2 remote. Remote classes have an assigned classroom so students can go there if needed and avoid roommate/dorm disruptions. The class schedule was adjusted for the fall with classes starting at 7:30 and running into the evening – not sure exactly how late but at least 5pm. There are recitations that meet later and certain classes have 7-10pm block tests, so maybe 2-3 times in the semester, but that happens anyway. No Saturday classes. Students complained about the 7:30s. Admin listened and earliest classes will be 8:30 in the spring.
There are no sports taking place this fall. Winter is TBD. The Patriot League presidents are meeting regularly to discuss what happens next.
Dining is a mixed bag. Students are unhappy with the quality and lack of variety. There is indoor dining but it is limited. All food is take out/to go.
Library is open at about 50% capacity. Study rooms can be reserved but only 2 people in them at a time. Study nooks are available throughout but chairs have been removed and spaces taped off to reduce density. The library is not open to the public.
Gym/rec center is open with reduced capacity. Movie and smores on the quad every Saturday night. Outdoor club and climbing wall are very popular as are the Bucknell farm and golf course.
The admissions office is open and having in person info sessions and tours. Numbers are limited and if you come from a state on PA’s “naughty” list you are expected to have quarantined 14 days before coming on campus.
Spring calendar just announced. Classes will start Feb. 1. No spring break. No long weekends. Finals will be on campus. Graduation is still scheduled for May 23 with the hope of it being in person.
The Wesleyan paper published an update today on Wesleyan’s Fall enrollment. The actual number of LOAs is nearly triple the figure I originally estimated, a little less than 10% of the college as a whole. As @AlwaysMoving rightly points out, first-years were the most likely to take a leave.:
http://wesleyanargus.com/2020/10/01/a-semester-deferred-wesleyan-students-discuss-time-off-campus/
Stanford did not allow any classes on campus for Fall Quarter. Right now plan is for Freshmen/Sophomores to be on campus for Winter Quarter and Juniors/Seniors for Spring Quarter
Notre Dame President Fr. John Jenkins, who was at the WH SCOTUS announcement on Saturday and was criticized for not wearing a mask and shaking hands, has tested positive for COVID-19.
There should be a button for “Wow. Just, wow.”
Was he the one who gave it to Hicks/POTUS/FLOTUS?
Came in to see if that had been posted. Talk about “Do what I say, not what I do”!–I think it should be grounds for dismissal. A totally egregious lapse in leadership.
Things are going pretty well at Rice. They had gone a week or so without any positives but have some showing up here and there. Everyone is tested weekly and there have been 8 cases in the last week - 4 undergrads, 2 grads, and 2 staff. We don’t get a lot of information about the positives but the last update said they were not related to one another.
The sent out a note today and while they are testing all on campus students and staff weekly and any off campus kids who come to campus, they are now expanding that and asking any off campus kids who interact with on campus kids to test as well, whether they come to campus or not themselves. It sounds like they are finding issues with this during contact tracing. They are really not limiting the kids travel at all. Kids can go off campus but are asked to follow safety protocols. Houston’s a big city so if kids are going off campus to see friends or to eat or whatever, it’s not unexpected they will have some positive cases. Their plan really relies on the kids to do the right thing.
We are hearing that they are reacting quickly to positive tests and reports of symptoms. There were quite a few parents who reported this week their kids were put in isolation due to symptoms such as a sore throat or fever and their roommates and contacts were quarantined. In most cases the kids end of testing negative. Going to get a little crazy as we hit cold and flu season.
As of this week they are allowing alcohol on campus for outside, registered events that follow other protocols (masks, distancing and no more than 50 people). These will likely be small parties at the residential colleges though my D thinks most colleges will take this slow. Still not supposed to be drinking inside or in rooms. Dining is still takeout and outside. Rice is usually known for having good food but there are more complaints this year. There are just less options and less ways to get creative without a salad bar and other serve yourself options.
No announced plans for spring yet but they are sending out a survey to students in a few days to see who plans to live on campus (some remote kids are coming back I think and they are allowing anyone back who wants to come) so they can start planning. Sounds like Spring Break will be cancelled and I expect the spring semester start date to be pushed back too.
As an alum was appalled not only by his decision to be at the ceremony but to choose not to wear a mask when sitting shoulder to shoulder with others (the Dean of the Law school sitting right next to him WAS wearing one); there was a student-led petition to have him resign for his complete hypocrisy and lack of judgement. He apologized to the students and said he would self quarantine, making it seem like he was doing that because he had obviously not followed protocol of wearing a mask when not socially distanced…and now he says he was self quarantining because a colleague with whom he was in close contact had tested positive? And he failed to be honest and reveal that was the reason until forced to, now that he’s positive (and obviously a few other people in the Rose Garden that day are as well)? I have no words…well, actually I do, but I’m pretty sure my post will be deleted if write them here.
But here is some good news. Duke will bring back the juniors and seniors who wish to live on campus next semester and allow the First years and Sophs who are on campus now to stay. Should be a relatively small number of additional students…seems most upperclassmen who were not provided on campus housing this semester opted to get apartments. The projected increase in students is not expected to materially change density or risk based on the strong protocols Duke has in place. All students living on campus have to turn in their keys at the end of the semester and will re-test upon return to campus next semester before being allowed to access the dorms. We’ll take it! Glad my D doesn’t have to move out the day before Thanksgiving !
@2ndthreekids - Great news for Duke. Makes me more inclined to tell S to get moving on his Duke app this weekend.
Does Duke have just singles on campus right now? Will they have doubles for spring? That’s great news. Glad that everyone who wants to be on campus will be able to be there. Remind me if any classes are in person?