FALL AT THE U. — The Weekly Opine

Will one of America’s loveliest campuses, Indiana University, be buzzing with students this fall? (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

What portends for one of life’s great adventures?

One of my cherished experiences, the memory as fresh today as when it occurred more than four decades ago, is the first time I visited Indiana University. It was spring 1975 of my senior year in high school. My parents drove me to IU on a gorgeous Saturday, temps in the mid-70s, clear blue sky.

Driving on Fee Lane, 10th Street and Jordan Avenue, I knew right then I would attend Indiana. The campus – as scenic as any in America – was teeming with students and attractive coeds. I was hooked. When I enrolled at IU in August, it marked the start of magical years that rank among the best of my life.

Living on campus where, other than professors and administrators, nearly everyone fit within the 18-24 demographic was wholly unique. Looking back, it was a blissful experience (other than during finals week). It would have been unimaginable to suspend the enchantment known as university life.

What about this fall?

A poll of 700 colleges, conducted by The Chronicle of Higher Education, shows 67% of colleges are working toward on-campus classes this fall. Other surveys show 65% of students want to attend in-person classes this fall, even if there is no vaccine. But 31% say, without a vaccine, they will only participate if classes are available online.

(At the K-12 level, 6 in 10 parents say, absent a vaccine, they will continue at-home schooling.)

America’s Main Man, Dr. Anthony Fauci, says it’s “a bit of a bridge too far” that we will have a distributable vaccine by the fall semester.

Major universities have begun announcing plans. One option (embraced by the University of Notre Dame, the University of South Carolina, and others) is to start classes in August, a few weeks earlier than normal, and send students home at Thanksgiving, ending the fall semester.

Indiana University and Marquette University are examples of schools going with a hybrid approach. They will bring students to campus in August and hold in-person classes. After Thanksgiving, students remain at home and finish the semester taking online classes. The University of Arizona is among schools planning a regular fall semester.

For all schools, contingency plans call for immediately sending students home if a sudden outbreak occurs.

On a recent Chronicle of Higher Education Zoom virtual meeting with college Chief Information Officers, a poll conducted during the meeting revealed 10% of educators expect all classes to be online this fall with only 5% saying all classes will be in-person. The majority, 85%, think there will be a hybrid. Arguably, the biggest challenge with online coursework is some students do not have a laptop and/or internet access

Another critical challenge is the economy. Families are more price sensitive, particularly low-income students. If they alter their college plans, we may be looking at the least diverse incoming freshmen class in decades. No surprise, low-income students are also most impacted by the digital divide, both urban and rural kids.

And given the amount of an undergraduate’s college cost attributed to tuition and room-and-board (est. 82% at 4-year public universities), students opting to take a gap year, or forgo college altogether, is concerning. Fewer students contacting financial aid offices this spring suggests fall enrollment will be lower than in recent years.

Yes it does. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Looking ahead, the key component to hosting classes on campus, as has been the case since we first learned about COVID-19, is testing. Some administrators outlined detailed testing, tracing, and isolation plans when they announced in-person fall classes would resume.

Honestly, college coronavirus testing feels a bit optimistic, given the federal government has failed miserably implementing national testing and tracing. Hopefully, college presidents can back up their words better than the national coronavirus task force.

A microcosm of America

America’s colleges and universities did an excellent job quickly pivoting to online learning earlier this year. Had they hesitated to evacuate campuses, there could have been virus outbreaks like at prisons and meatpacking plants.

What will happen this fall? Are universities capable of safely returning students to campus? Can school operations ROI work if fewer students enroll? If classes are online only, or a hybrid of on-campus and online, what happens to administrative staff? Maintenance staff? Food service staff? What becomes of businesses in the college town? How many schools will close forever?

This is a complicated challenge requiring the temperament and competence to balance internal business data and medical experts’ advice. The end goal is an environment that fosters student and faculty safety, while returning the school to as near “normal” as possible.

To get a feel for what the experience is like, The Weekly Opine interviewed a college student and a parent (not of the student we interviewed). Both are taking a measured, practical approach while dealing with an uncertain future.

Living it

Lin is a rising senior at a Big Ten university studying human resource management and business. She is impressive, candid and has a bright future. Lin participates in extracurricular activities at school, is a leader on campus and is working an intern job this spring.

Regarding this fall, Lin’s school sent an email “with several options.” She says the two most likely options are all online or a hybrid – some in-person and some online. Lin says S.T.E.M. classes would probably be in-person “in smaller settings or smaller groups,” while large lecture classes could be online. If campus opens it could be at a limited capacity and/or limited hours.

Regarding returning to campus, Lin said she “plans to go back in the fall” whether classes are in-person or a combo of in-person and online. She is “not personally concerned about her own safety” but is worried about older professors. Another concern is the “quality of education if universities cut adjunct teaching staff while adding classes to accommodate smaller class sizes.”

Surprisingly, Lin’s school has not asked students’ opinion. “That’s something that bothers me, that [the university] has not reached out to students,” Lin said. Lin feels the university should have included a student panel to collaborate with staff, sharing student experiences and suggestions.

Lin says the online learning experience “sucks.” For example, some classes have a mandated start time which adversely impacts students in different time zones. In other classes, professors upload an entire semester’s worth of power point lectures, telling students everything is due at the end of the semester and to do the work “at their own pace.”

Poll from The Chronicle of Higher Education suggests students feel ‘so-so’ about online learning.

Online coursework from home “produces low engagement” Lin says, adding that online courses detract from what you are supposed to get out of learning, e.g. “discussion and interaction.” On a scale of 1 to 10, (with in-person being a 10), Lin rates online learning “probably a 5.”

If her school goes online-only this fall Lin will not take a gap year, given she is about to graduate. If she was a senior in high school, Lin would “definitely take a gap year.”

Lin feels more stressed having to take classes online from home compared with on campus. It is hard “to separate school/life balance” and easier to fall behind and get stressed out. Staying motivated is harder, too. “This is not an environment most people can do their work to their full potential,” Lin said.

A key learning for Lin is she would not welcome working from home 100-percent of the time once her career starts. To be high functioning she needs to be away from home, working among her peers. While online learning has been frustrating, this experience has shown Lin the type of environment she needs to be successful.

Papa knows best

A parent named Will is the father of a rising junior who attends a university in the Midwest. Will says the university’s communication with he and his wife is “poor, lackluster.” Will says the university occasionally communicates with he and his wife but primarily with his daughter. “Mostly we learn important stuff from our daughter,” Will said.

Will’s daughter’s online learning “comes in waves.” Some weeks are slow, then other weeks multiple assignments are due. His daughter prefers taking a gap year if coursework is only available online this fall but Will and his wife have ruled out the gap year option.

Will says his daughter will “get better grades taking all online courses,” e.g. students can take tests referencing their books. Primarily, he does not want her “sitting around without being able to get a job” if the unemployment rate continues rising.

If classes are all online in the fall, Will says “paying full tuition is unfair.” He obtained a partial refund for his daughter’s spring semester tuition. If the university demands full tuition in the fall with online classes he will probably pay, to keep his daughter from taking a gap year.

Will admits that everyone being at home all day adds an element of stress. However, the three family dogs love having everyone around.

University presidents must choose wisely between online only, on-campus only, or a hybrid of the first two. (Photo credit The Weekly Opine)

Getting it right

Clearly, go/no-go regarding fall on-campus classes is a difficult decision. Soon we will know how each approach fares.

The hybrid option allows schools to preserve some cashflow, e.g. tuition and room & board, without committing to a fully loaded on-campus experience. Going hybrid also provides aircover of sorts, a dipping of the toes in the water. However, in the event a virus outbreak pops up schools would again have to scramble to send students home. (Or if an outbreak occurs off-campus in a reopened college town.) Same for schools going all-in on-campus this fall

There are myriad uncertainties surrounding the coronavirus. Toss in the unpredictability of the upcoming flu season and we may be atop a powder keg.

Totaling 23 campuses, the Cal State University system announced fall classes will be online, with the exception of essential lab courses and clinical classes for nursing students. The decision to go with online classes is because of the “evolving data surrounding the progression of the virus” Chancellor Tim White said.

While all approaches have positives and negatives, when considering the changing dynamics of the pandemic and the sluggish federal response, fall classes online is obviously the safest approach - for student safety and for universities to avoid second-guessing, i.e. if the virus surges on campus.

The hybrid option, if not overly complex, enables students without reliable internet to learn in-person. All students have access to the on-campus experience and engagement they expect. In some cases, students uncomfortable attending in-person can stay home and participate online. Schools generate income with the flexibility to quickly move all classes online if a virus outbreak occurs.

Like all of America, it depends on testing and tracing.