@Leigh22 I posed that question a while back. IMO, I think the vast majority of schools will offer online option for at least the next full school year.
@guava123, posts need to be about “School in the Fall and Coronavirus.” Not general statistics about the disease. Not whether people should be wearing masks or getting together in general. Not politics. After you write a post, ask yourself if it addresses the subject of the thread and doesn’t violate TOS. Thanks for asking!
@Leigh22 wrote:
I think some colleges would welcome that with open arms!
@Leigh22 Some colleges require all students (or all freshmen) to live on campus and if the campus is open that requirement will stand. So for some, if the campus is open they will not have the choice but to pay for room and board (though I guess they could stay at home and not use what they are paying for).
@MaineLonghorn thank you for clarifying.
They may change the policy or allow more exceptions if (a) they do not have enough dorm space after reducing density, or (b) some students cannot get back to campus due to travel restrictions.
Or maybe even if a student has underlying conditions. I doubt kids are going to be forced to be on campus or pay for it this fall.
My S20 is doing it now at a local CC to knock out a general ed class before he starts college in the fall. He’s taking chemistry with online labs (don’t ask…he goofed off and got a 3 on the AP test so he’s retaking). I would think if you’re a STEM major I would not want to do a lab online. It’s not the same plus they build on each other over time. However, if you’re a liberal arts or business major like my son I would do it.
Has anyone actually heard of a school that is requiring students to be on campus and not offering an online option? I have not. I have heard a few (like CSU system) offer online only, and several planning on hybrid (online and oncampus).
We are leary about my daughter accepting at Fordham for this reason. She got a full tuition merit scholarship. My daughter would prefer to study on line and go to the city when we as a family feel it is safer. But what if the university thinks it is safer and needs the students in person and we dont want to send her to the city? I think @Leigh22 wrote about this concern. Given this uncertainty she is therefore choosing to accept elsewhere.
Absolutely. All of the hybrid models I’ve seen include that - in order to protect vulnerable students and keep international students who can’t travel.
Do you have any examples of colleges saying that in these initial CV announcements? I dont. They will relax their policies for this, no doubt.
In my opinion, from a lot of reading on these announcements and underlying messaging, there is zero chance Fordham (especially Fordham - in NYC) will force your D to come to campus. They will give her online options and I’m sure welcome students to do online rather than take up space on campus or take a gap year. They are going to need as much space as they can get.
Having an online option is helpful generally. If the student is sick of anything, s/he can attend class remotely that day without exposing others.
Raise your hand if you will be purchasing tuition insurance. I was planning on it, anyway, as I watched a friend throw away a semester of tuition when her daughter had a mental health crisis and left school after Thanksgiving break. Now, more than ever, it seems prudent (assuming covid-19 is a covered condition).
I bet insurance underwriters are quickly adding pandemic-related circumstances to their list of exclusions if they haven’t already. So I’d read the fine print …
I do have knowledge of one school saying that students will still be required on campus but it was during an IG live stream and not an official statement. I am (like many parents) awaiting official word but the policy they outlined (very recently) stated students are required on campus as it leads to student success.
I heard an interview with a couple of school’s here in Canada and they mentioned that VR maybe an option for some labs. I know there are trade programs that have been experimenting with it, but I assume that those have been in-person. Could be very expensive if every student was required to have a compatible computer & goggles in order to access VR content remotely.
I agree there have to be some creative options to improve the online experience of lab courses. My son’s HS is using YouTube videos and they are being given simulated lab data.
I didn’t see a mortality rate for 15-24-year-olds on the CDC site, but it looks like there have been “only” 60 deaths, which is at least somewhat reassuring. (Obviously the number would be a lot higher if colleges hadn’t sent students home, if states hadn’t instituted lockdowns, etc.)
However, my broader point (which I didn’t convey well) is that the relationship between risk, behavior and emotional response is a complex and often irrational one. People vastly underestimate some risks and vastly overestimate others (which is why we have lotteries), and proximity to bad outcomes causes people’s perception of risk to dramatically increase and their tolerance of risk to dramatically decrease. Which is why I still think that once a campus experiences a major outbreak (and especially if one or more fatalities occur), some degree of panic will set in among parents, students and administrators.
I’m curious in particular how students will react. Some seem completely oblivious to (or unconcerned about) dangers to their health (e.g., binge drinking), while others want their schools to act as wombs that will protect them from not just physical dangers but emotional ones (e.g., people saying things that upset them). Although disagreements are inevitable, I hope that if we get a second wave of COVID-19, campuses won’t be torn apart by the same political/cultural forces that seem to be operating in the general public.