As Campuses Reopen, Colleges Face Tough Call on Covid-19 Testing
University of Arkansas’s strategy to test only symptomatic students found few coronavirus cases, but off-campus testing revealed a spike
Reopening Colleges Face Biggest Coronavirus Threat: Students
Colleges and universities are attempting to reopen campuses despite high-profile failures and despite the most obvious obstacle of all: counting on students to change their behavior.
Simulation-Based What-If Analysis for Controlling the Spread of COVID-19 in Universities
Abstract: A simulation model is developed to analyze the spread of COVID-19 in universities. The model can be used to conduct what-if analysis and to estimate infection cases and the probability of death for students and faculty/staff under different policies. For proof-of-concept, the model is simulated for a hypothetical university of 25,000 students and 3,000 faculty/staff in a US college town.
Looking to Reopen, Colleges Become Labs for Coronavirus Tests and Tracking Apps
Universities are pioneering technology that could help society combat the pandemic.
Colleges vs. Parties
The big picture: The close to 2,000 campuses trying to reopen this fall are finding that it's nearly impossible to prevent outbreaks when you bring together thousands of undergraduates who've been starved of social contact all summer.
US Coronavirus: Universities, Colleges Report 8,700 New COVID-19 Infections
More than 8,700 students in 36 states have tested positive for COVID-19 since the fall semester began. More schools are reconsidering their original plans to hold in-person instruction due to the spike in cases. Some college towns are considering shutting down as coronavirus cases spread.
Covid-19: re-opening universities is high risk
Over a third of US colleges and universities fully reopened in August. It was risky: at the beginning of the month, the US had about 55 000 new cases per day and no federal covid-19 control plan or coordinated vision for safely reopening universities. Today, the national reopening experiment already looks to have been a disaster.
Cornell University to Reopen this Fall Despite Opposition from Community
The school is the only Ivy League university that will be reopening, leaving students and community members concerned for their safety.
Fall Brings Wave of Furloughs
Without reliable revenue from student housing, dining and athletic programs, colleges are facing steep budget shortfalls and implementing additional furloughs.
A Question of Trust
With pivots, lockdowns and outbreaks occurring at campuses around the country, will students continue to trust their colleges?
287 Utah State University students quarantined after Covid-19 found in wastewater from four dorms
While schools and universities across the country monitor coronavirus outbreaks with human testing, Utah State University officials announced they've discovered evidence of the virus a different way. The school found elevated amounts of Covid-19 in wastewater samples collected from four residence halls on campus.
Gag Order or Privacy Concern?
When it comes to their students testing positive for COVID-19, professors say they have a right to know and share the information how they deem appropriate. Colleges want to keep those cases close to the vest.
Colleges crack down on student behavior as virus threatens more closures
Institutions are quickly finding out the limitations of a we’re-all-in-this-together mindset.
What College Students Need to Know About Liability Waivers for COVID-19
As college and university campuses across the United States reopen, administrators are faced with the task of protecting students while also protecting the interests of the institutions they lead. This includes reducing the risk of lawsuits. Some institutions have resorted to forcing students to sign liability waivers. What purpose do these serve and is this the best course of action? As a professor who researches higher education law, here are my answers to four questions related to these waivers.
Reopening Higher Education Campuses—And The Social Distancing Tech That Can Help
Some reopened campuses already have several hundred infections. But as of late August, Millersville University had zero cases. What did it do right?
The power of data in campus re-opening: A Q&A with UNC Chapel Hill
For most institutions, the road to re-opening is fraught with uncertainty. To answer critical questions, many colleges and universities are turning to data and technology for much-needed insight. Learn how UNC Chapel Hill is leveraging data to assist in their campus re-opening.
The Future of the Academic Work Force: How will the pandemic change the way higher education works?
Among other consequences, the turmoil has heightened distrust between administrators and faculty and staff members, a fraught relationship even in the best of times. In the view of some faculty members, anti-intellectual administrative bean counters are using the pandemic as an excuse to enact changes the faculty has long resisted. Some administrators, on the other hand, feel that they are in survival mode, scrambling to keep their institutions afloat in unprecedented circumstances. In their view, the faculty has revealed itself once again as clueless when it comes to the economic realities of running an institution of higher learning.
Political Influence on Fall Plans
New analysis found that a college's reopening decision for the fall term is tied to the red or blue shade of its state, even if political pressure may not be direct.
‘Increasingly Alarming’: Coronavirus Is Swamping Campuses Weeks After Reopening
…But, just a few weeks into the fall semester, the experiment is faltering. Colleges and universities across the country are struggling to contain surges of COVID-19 cases on campus. As of Tuesday, more than 25,000 students and campus staff in at least 37 states had tested positive for the virus—mostly concentrated in southern states that were already struggling to contain a COVID-19 crisis.
‘Nobody Likes Snitching’: How Rules Against Parties Are Dividing Campuses
…The situation at Cornell underscores a deeper tension on campuses all over the country as about 1,100 colleges embark on the huge experiment of reopening in a pandemic. Students, returning to school after months of isolation, are not only being asked to fully reimagine what their college social lives look like, but also to assume active roles as the front line against an outbreak at their schools by policing campus safety.
How 3 Colleges Are Using Student ‘Ambassadors’ to Enforce Social Distancing
As many colleges and universities welcome students back to campus for the fall, some have seen big outbreaks of Covid-19. While several have blamed the outbreaks on students who violate social-distancing guidelines, others have deployed students to help enforce the rules.
‘Our Biggest Fear’: What Outbreaks on 3 Campuses Say About the Pandemic This Fall
…The Chronicle crunched numbers from USAFacts, a nonprofit group that collates data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health agencies. Not all counties tracked by The Chronicle saw a sharp upswing in cases following the return of students. In some counties, colleges’ return dates weren’t closely associated with changes in the direction of cases in the county. But the counties that did see spikes may yield lessons for other campuses that are seeking to contain outbreaks — or for local officials who want to keep the spread from becoming a regional case surge. Three of those counties — those that house the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Iowa State University, and Washington State University — were particularly instructive.
Live Updates: Latest News on Coronavirus and Higher Education
Temple Extends Remote Instruction for Rest of Semester
Sept. 3, 9:50 a.m. Four days after announcing a two-week suspension of in-person classes, Temple University in Philadelphia today extended the move for the rest of the fall semester for almost all courses. Only essential courses -- those that require some in-person instruction to meet educational objectives -- are not covered by the decision. Temple estimates 95 percent of its courses will be delivered online for the rest of the semester.
Kutztown University reopening plan amid coronavirus pandemic prompts exceptional backlash
Kutztown University is among the majority in deciding to open its campus this fall, both in the Lehigh Valley and across the state. Yet the university is unique in several ways: At Kutztown, faculty and students donned medieval plague masks at a protest in front of the president’s house last month, more than 1,500 staff and students signed a letter with 15 concerns about the reopening plan, and faculty members have said they might propose to take a vote of no confidence if the administration does not respond their concerns.
What we've learned about COVID-19 seven months after the first US case
Younger people are not immune to this disease. Over 60% of new infections in the United States are now in people under the age of 50. People ages 18 to 29 represent 22.3% of cases; ages 30 to 39 represent 17.1% of cases and ages 40 to 49 represent 15.7% of cases.
Asymptomatic children who contract COVID-19 may ‘shed’ coronavirus for weeks
Should families double down on social distancing now that their kids are going back to school? A new study published in JAMA Pediatrics suggests that children can spread SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, even if they never develop symptoms or even long after symptoms have cleared. It found a significant variation in how long children continued to “shed” the virus through their respiratory tract and, therefore, could potentially remain infectious.
While the virus was detectable for an average of about 2.5 weeks in the entire group, a significant portion of the children —about a fifth of the asymptomatic patients and about half of the symptomatic ones — were still shedding virus at three weeks, meaning they were releasing it into the environment. The researchers also found that the duration of COVID-19 symptoms also varied widely, from three days to nearly three weeks.
The US needs to talk about long-term coronavirus symptoms, a doctor and a patient say
Covid-19 can be a prolonged illness, even among young adults without underlying chronic medical conditions, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in July. Thirty-five percent of patients surveyed by the agency said they still weren't back to their usual good health even two to three weeks after testing positive for the disease.
Will Schools and Universities Ever Return to Normal?
…Universities are struggling even more than schools. Dorms and student socializing seem to be natural habitats for the virus. Private universities that are dependent on tuition payments could suffer if parents decide that remote learning isn’t worth the exorbitant cost—or if Chinese students paying full tuition don’t come back. One thing is certain: COVID-19 has unleashed a revolution in digital learning that could disrupt academia forever. To help us think about the pandemic’s effects on education going forward, Foreign Policy asked nine prominent thinkers to look into their crystal balls.
‘Longer Runway’ Due to Virus Means Anxiety for New Big Law Class
LONG RUNWAY: Many bar authorities across the country delayed or canceled in-person bar exams scheduled for July for public health reasons, leaving recent law school graduates anxious. They also face another big hurdle — employment. Many law firms have pushed back start dates for their associates to the New Year. Some are providing stipends and health insurance to get the grads over the hump, others are not.
INSIGHT: Would Eliminating the Bar Exam Impact Malpractice Claims?
As debate continues over the future of bar exams, the potential impact on future malpractice claims needs to be considered. In this Q&A, Courtney Curtis-Ives, co-chair of the professional liability practice group at Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck LLP, and Kiera Goral, assistant vice president of claims for QBE North America, discuss ramifications of eliminating the bar exam.
Who Leads Colleges After COVID-19?
A singular focus on the current crisis won't do, higher education leaders say. Those in power at colleges and universities must find time to prepare their institutions for an unsettled future that looks very different from the old status quo.
When Student Influencers Catch COVID-19
YouTube stars Brooklyn and Bailey McKnight didn’t cast any blame on Baylor University when they contracted COVID-19. Will other students with large social media followings be so generous?
PPE Vending Machines Help Public Transportation Riders Mask Up And Sanitize
As college campuses reopen, they're making sure students have options. Virginia Commonwealth University and the University of Missouri-Kansas City have also added PPE vending machines. “It makes me feel safer. I’m not sure if it’s enough but at this point, I don’t really know what else you can do,” VCU freshman Mary Dorra told RVA Hub.
Counties and Colleges Wrangle Over COVID-19
Campus leaders in Kansas, Michigan and Texas face pressure from local health authorities to toughen COVID-19 restrictions, and some push back.
Colleges Should Go Back to School on Remote Learning
Too few seized this fall’s unique opportunity to truly reimagine how they offer virtual education, and student dissatisfaction -- and ultimately budget pain -- are likely to follow, Ryan Craig writes.
The old college try fails
…Instead of concrete plans to deal with the inevitable virus spread, school officials shifted responsibility to students, ordering them not to gather. Universities were surprisingly unprepared to deal with young adults’ irresistible need to socialize, especially after an extended hiatus where they were largely locked at home with their parents.
International students endured quarantine, empty colleges to get to fall semester: Now, campuses are filling
At colleges like the University of Rochester, getting international students to campus is among the most complicated of their COVID-19 challenges.
Chinese drive record in international students
Surging applications from China are driving a record number of international students heading for UK universities this autumn. … Overall, a record 71,370 overseas students secured places at UK universities — 1,200 more than last year. Their tuition fees will contribute millions of pounds to the UK economy.
Schools Have No Good Options for Reopening during COVID-19
Bringing students back into classrooms or keeping them home can both have negative consequences
Reopening schools during COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is upending education. Operating schools during the pandemic entails balancing health risks against the consequences of disrupting in-person learning. In the United States, plans differ among states as schools have already reopened or plan to reopen. Scientific understanding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2, the cause of COVID-19) should inform how schools reopen.
A Missouri teacher died from coronavirus, underscoring the life-or-death stakes this school year
As the country enters its seventh month of the coronavirus pandemic, the failures of state-level education policies and paltry school budgets are combining into the worst possible scenario for reopening schools. In Missouri, a 34-year-old special education teacher has died of coronavirus complications after three weeks of hospitalization. Though the teacher was hospitalized before students in the district returned to their classrooms on Aug. 24, her death is a stark reminder of what teachers are risking when they return to their jobs.
US university workers fight a return to campus as COVID-19 cases grow
Faculty members, graduate students and other campus staff file lawsuits and protest against unsafe conditions as institutions reopen.
Reopening Universities Isn’t Just a Threat to Staff and Students – It’s a Threat to Communities Too
The University and College Union (UCU) has called for all university teaching to take place online next term. This is for the very obvious reason that squashing huge numbers of people from different parts of the country into the same lecture theatres, halls of residence and student bars is pretty much the best way to generate a massive spike in Covid-19.
But in some areas of the country, the risk is higher than in others. Reopening universities threatens a massive public health disaster affecting not just students and academic staff, but local communities too.
Parties and Covid-19 Outbreaks Threaten University Reopenings in the U.S.
As more U.S. universities and colleges try to reopen with in-person instruction, outbreaks, student parties and pushback from instructors and students are threatening their plans.
COVID-19 at college: Shaming and blaming students can make it worse, experts say
Harm-reduction approaches could focus on making gatherings safer, rather than ban them outright.
600 UC San Diego students, faculty ask university to drop plans to reopen campus
Nearly 600 UC San Diego students, faculty and staff have signed an open letter asking the school to drop plans to place thousands of undergraduates in dorms and resume some in-person classes due to the threat posed by the novel coronavirus.
College Quarantine Breakdowns Leave Some at Risk
Colleges are trying to isolate students who have the coronavirus or have been exposed to it, but they are running into a host of problems.
What Did College Leaders Think Was Going to Happen?
University administrators should have seen this coming.
The psychology behind why some college students break Covid-19 rules
…It's easy to blame the clusters of cases solely on the students -- it plays perfectly into the stereotype of teenage recklessness and vanity. But their risky decisions have more to do with their development and mental resilience than conscious rule-breaking, three developmental psychologists told CNN.
Schools Briefing: Coronavirus Dorms and Super Spreaders
Colleges are struggling to deal with outbreaks on campus.
One in five Americans say it's safe to reopen schools now, survey finds
As students across the country return to school amid the coronavirus pandemic, only one in five Americans say it's safe right now to reopen schools and universities, according to a new survey.
That is an 11 percentage point increase from the number of Americans who said the same in late-April, according to a survey from the Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project.
Mental Health Needs Rise With Pandemic
A mountain of troubling data about rising mental health problems has health advocates and providers worried about the need for additional support for struggling students and the ability of colleges to provide it.
The Latest: WHO warns against politics in COVID-19 response
GENEVA — The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization says governments that provide “politically motivated” information about the coronavirus pandemic could face a political backlash. Dr. Michael Ryan said Monday that “trying to present oversimplified, simplistic solutions for people is not a long-term strategy that wins.” He told reporters in Geneva that “transparency, consistency, honesty” and admitting errors can build trust.