News headlines related to higher education this week are dominated by articles about the postponement of the football season by the Big-10 and Pac-12, including the impacts on student athletes, athletic department budgets, and regional economies.
Don't let this distract you from the reality that higher education is about to embark on a grand experiment as they attempt to reopen in various ways for the fall semester.
My daughter leaves today for her junior year at Arizona State University. She came home in March after ASU foolishly decided to reopen after spring break, only to move everything online two days after students returned. For fall semester, their home page advertises a "safe and welcoming environment." The latter is possible, the former unclear.
At the University of Utah, where my son is a student (and I'm a faculty member), the home page makes no assertions to safety, but simply welcomes new and returning students.
Both Universities have been moving more and more classes online. All of my daughters classes are now online and all but one of my sons classes is online. This is, in my view, a reasonable and prudent move, but I'm sure there are some with differing perspectives.
My advice to my kids has been to recognize that this is an experiment, that Universities are not partially or fully reopening because the pandemic is over, that we don't really know how this will play out, and that their best option is to be as cautious as possible. For my daughter, who will be 500 miles from home, we have talked with her about the realities if she gets COVID and that we won't be able to drive down there and bring her home. She and her roommate and their closest friends are going to have to take care of each other if any of them contract the virus (she lives off campus). We hope that if any of them contract the virus, that the symptoms are minor and there are no long-term issues.
As a faculty member, I have been preparing to teach online throughout the summer. This includes attending online bootcamps and webinars on how to teach online using a variety of resources. I am in the process of converting a class that I've taught in person and in a specialized computer lab for 25 years to an online format. Many other faculty have done the same and I am hopeful that students will benefit from this during the fall semester.
The coming semester will be like no other in the history of higher education. Please stay safe and healthy as we embark on this grand experiment.
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