Well, you could if the students have recent mobile phones (see the Apple - Google method of using Bluetooth to detect when phones come close to each other https://covid19-static.cdn-apple.com/applications/covid19/current/static/contact-tracing/pdf/ExposureNotification-FAQv1.0.pdf ). However, at colleges where contact with numerous other students is common and unavoidable (e.g. high density college dorms, full classrooms, full dining halls), any student testing positive for COVID-19 will probably cause a very large number of other students to be alerted as having been in contact with a COVID-19 case, even if most of them have had only very brief incidental contact and are unlikely to be infected.
But that still does not solve for transmission through contaminated surfaces like tables, door handles, etc., which is a problem that contract tracing does not effectively solve.
I think schools are quickly running out of time to de-densify the dorms. I know the UCs are not guaranteeing housing but for the other big schools that have mentioned de-densifying families will need to know very quickly who is getting dorm spaces and who isn’t. I am trying to think about schools in Boston or NYC and how hard it will be to find space for all those students outside of the dorms… I just don’t see it happening.
Contact tracing identifies those who were in ‘close’ contact, then those ‘close’ contacts must quarantine. The below definition makes it clear that all students in a classroom wouldn’t be defined as a ‘close’ contact for example. If all class members were 6 ft apart, none of the classmates would be a ‘close’ contact.
I agree with most of Amherst’s communication as well. My DS went to boarding school near Amherst: finding space in Western MA for anyone who may become ill should be less of an issue than in expensive cities. That said, with so many businesses in NYC, Boston and Philly closing, there will be an abundance of unused office space, perhaps local governments will allow for rezoning so space can be used for residential?
Amherst’s communication seems sensible and I wish I was hearing it from my son’s school. On the other hand, it also sounds expensive. Amherst has money, but most schools do not.
At mid-size to larger schools, I think the classes a student selects may determine the odds of distance learning. My DS is finishing up his freshman year at Wharton (UPenn). He is registered for this fall and all six of the classes he selected are huge, 150 + other students, with rock star, older professors. Getting into the classes he wants at Penn has been challenging for him, and he has no real advising. That said, I did have a pre-registration conversation with him about considering courses that may have a higher likelihood of being taught in person (smaller), he either didn’t remember or didn’t care. He cares most about being back with his friends, his fraternity, the pre-professional clubs, etc.
This is interesting. It could work, and it might be a model for other organisations as well. But the challenge comes with scaling. Amherst might be able to swing this, but could a large state college do so?
@Mindfully this is what every LAC is suggesting. Many are saying that, if they cannot do these things, then kids won’t be welcomed back in the fall. If this is what is necessary to keep the virus in check then it’s going to be hard enough for places like Amherst to pull it off.
I haven’t seen a detailed plan like this from a larger university yet. Some have said they will try to spread kids out in dorms more. And I’ve heard they are likely to have online class for large classes so I guess kids just stay in their rooms for class. If these Amherst-like changes are unrealistic for larger schools then will they have bigger outbreaks? We just don’t know.
It will be interesting to see what happens. I think in some cases you need to have them all come on campus 2 weeks before classes start, and test everyone. The issue would be those who live off campus… Or maybe if they come 2 weeks early and this “spreads”, there might be herd immunity eventually? That might be more risky. Personally if my kids were not living at home, since they are healthy, I would let them “do more”. There are some young adults living in their college apartments right now that are socializing amoungst themselves, versus those who came home.
@Knowsstuff right. Before S19 makes a decision, we would need to know the plan for when a student tests positive. Schools may have different versions of how they proceed after that. Some parents will want the protocol to be conservative and some will not but schools will have a plan for that before kids head back.
I wonder how much control the College Presidents really have wrt opening up and related policies and procedures…seems the state governor (along with State Public Health Dept) will have the final say allowing any college (public or private) to open up.
If that’s the case, seems like each college should not be re-creating the wheel wrt policies and procedures because they will have to follow what the government says when there is a break out, when to use social distancing and so on. CDC has developed guidelines for colleges, so maybe States will follow those to be efficient, but detailed procedures still need to be put in place.
Regarding contact tracers, seems likely they won’t be college based, but rather state/county health dept based…same as they currently are. In my county, the health dept has contact tracers who trace diseases like whooping cough (which S21 had a few months ago!). States are trying to hire many contact tracers now and I assume they would cover the colleges in their state, as they do now.
@homerdog Which ones have said if they can’t do that they won’t be bringing students back? I haven’t heard of any LAC that has said that. Most right now (such as Haverford and Smith) are saying they expect and fully intend to bring students back in fall.
@Mwfan1921 I completely agree. In my area it’s up to the province to decide when things can start opening up and what restrictions will continue. They will be taking their lead from public health officials. After that though it will be up to the universities themselves to implement practices that conform with whatever restrictions still remain (because I don’t think we’re going to see a full return to normal in the fall). Universities will need to also make contingency plans in the event that things blow up again with a second wave. I suspect that for us, while each school will have their own plan, there will be a great deal of consultation between institutions in determining best practices. A national higher-ed consult group that I know of is also trying to get a bunch of the schools to co-ordinate creating a bank of resources for on-line instruction to help improve the quality of on-line offerings for the fall.
Colleges can say they are fully planning to be open, but most, if not all of the communications have also said something like ‘of course we are planning for all possible outcomes’. (and if they didn’t say that, they still are planning for hybrid and/or fully online models).
The ability of any college to open up to students will come down to the availability of accurate rapid testing, the ability to do contact tracing, and the quarantining/isolating of exposed/sick individuals. Brown’s president called it “test-trace-separate”. No college can open without those things in place.
Here is what IU is saying and it’s not much. If kids are on campus it will likely be a hybrid of online and in person. No info on how to social distance. If there will be testing and contact tracing. If campus will be closed to visitors. No detail like Amherst’s plan.
@homerdog I think almost every college will be doing hybrid if they bring students back, with most large class lectures being online and most small classes, labs, discussion sections, performing arts classes, and nursing classes (if nursing is offered) being in-person.
So for “contact tracing” to work on a college campus we need reliable phone apps to notify students immediately if in contact with an infected person; the ability to test students/faculty/admin quickly; and get test results back within 20 mins, accurately.
I wonder if all people allowed on a college campuses are required to wear a mask, does it make sense to test every person who may have been in contact (i.e. less than 6 feet apart for more than 15 min guidelines) with an infected person? (i.e. odds seem very low of a transmission). Seems like overkill and logistically a nightmare to administer contact tracing in densely populated areas like college campuses.
And then it begs the question if college students are going to be subject to these draconian precautions and restrictions, is it going to be even worth it to attend college in person? I could see many students try this new on campus college experience (with high risk of exposure, limited movement around campus, no clubs, no lunches with professors or grad students, no gathering in groups, no parties, no Greek life, limited in-person classes, etc) and say it’s not worth their effort and go back home to do classes online.
You really want to do college in person “be careful what you ask for”…
D19 has been really busy with her classes, and preparing for finals. Yesterday was the first time she said something like ‘huh, if we do return to campus things might be really different’.
So she is really just starting to process what things might look like at a granular, daily level. We won’t talk about it more seriously until after finals, but before she was gung ho on getting back to school, maybe less so now.