Makes me think that contrary to the image of Wellesley I had in my head, that it probably doesn’t have a lot of single rooms. I’ve never been to Wellesley, neither the college nor the town, but I imagine the surrounding rental market would be quite limited and expensive, too. This makes me want to reconsider the odds that Williams or Swarthmore would be able to successfully de-densify (to use the HYPMS, phraseology), adequately, also.
TBH, using the word, “impotence” with regard to an all-women’s college is a little inapt.
@circuitrider many of us were actually quite shocked to learn that there would not be off-campus housing as we anticipated. While the town of Wellesley does not have any hotels or much affordable housing, Framingham, the next town over and home to Framingham State, has plenty of hotels and tons of affordable housing that could have been used for students. Very surprised that the school did not choose to move students to Framingham.
Do you think that Framingham would have been interested in this plan? What about transportation? But yes, Wellesley has very little of the type of rental housing that students would seek.
As to Tufts, Somerville/Medford are pretty close to Cambridge-level in terms of real estate, but a bit better in availability and pricing for students. OTOH, Tufts is risking poor relationships with local “townies” with their plan IMO if another outbreak happens in such a hard-hit area.
Williams has a brand new hotel on campus that they may be able to use for housing. And it replaced an older inn, so if that building is still standing they would have 2 on campus hotels to use.
@fretfulmother
Wellesley students can already cross-register at MIT, Olin, and Babson so there are already plenty of shuttles to get students to each of these institutions. I doubt we will be allowed to take classes at MIT this year so it would just make more sense to use the shuttles for transportation between Framingham and Wellesley. We are receiving another email with more info next week but presumably sports will not be happening so the sport shuttles could have also been used as transportation. Hotels in the area are suffering a big blow; I thought they might be eager to offer housing to students.
in the email, possible off-campus housing was mentioned for seniors so I suppose maybe some of these ideas will materialize.
Tufts already has a strained relationship with the community. They’ve been working on improving it over the years, but little has changed. Last year, several landlords in the area were threatening to stop renting to Tufts students if their behavior didn’t improve. I agree that this is certainly risky.
Do you mean the Marriott Fairfield Inn? It only has 94 rooms, only slightly larger than Williams Inn with its 64 rooms. They may be useful for quarantine purpose.
@aryamilka Bowdoin could have housed kids in hotels that were a 15 min drive from campus but chose not to. I’m guessing part of it is they weren’t having in-person classes anyway so why bus them to campus? And 200 kids in a Fairfield Inn ten miles off of campus? Why bother? That’s not campus life. Maybe that’s how Wellesley feels about it too. I think it’s great if they can help seniors find closer off-campus housing. Bowdoin kids are trying hard to find rentals in Brunswick and there are so few. Bowdoin isn’t helping at all. That seems complicated because a college would then get involved with private citizens who are leasing their houses? I’m not sure how it will work but good for Wellesley if they they can help.
If this is true for any given college, that’s scary. Each prof has makes his own plan? I’ll use Zoom, I’ll use Skype, I’ll FAX test results. Don’t want to be at that school.
Just about every school that has released a plan mentions online classes. If they cannot explain their standards, then they have none.
This takes me back. The first time I ever heard the term “townie” was when I stayed in the Tufts dorms over the summer in the 1980s for an internship at GTE, between my junior and senior years of college. Being from the west coast, the term was totally unfamiliar. It wasn’t used in a very positive manner. I guess maybe things haven’t evolved so much in that regard?
Academic freedom. Professors have a lot more leeway than most people in the public seem to realize. I have been repeatedly surprised by the lack of “oversight” as it were.
I have to agree with @Rivet2000. Online teaching is not something they teach you in grad school; it’s certainly not going to be in the typical boomer tenured professor’s toolbox. Studies have shown that distance learning is something that would have to be embraced wholeheartedly starting at the president’s office, for it to work system-wide.
I would guess the older faculty and staff would be prioritized for a vaccine. If all but the students were immune, concern over spread would drop considerably, no?
Hopefully any students with underlying issues would also be in the first priority, as well as any other faculty and staff with higher potential for bad outcomes or with family in those categories.
It’s not that extreme. They can tell you the platforms the college is using (Zoom, Blackboard, Canvas, Brightspace, etc.), but you were looking for more specific details. I might have to use Zoom, but I decide if classes are synchronous, and how often. No one tells me how to grade my papers and how to return feedback–or even when. Some professors like to have small group discussions and peer work, others do not. Again, unless it’s a course with a recitation, I get to decide. If I want to integrate online material from a particular textbook publisher to synch with the designated online platform the college is using, it’s my choice. Want to know if, how, and when I’ll quiz? Admin has no clue. If students and parents want those details, they’ll need to email me for my syllabus.
So go ahead and ask the big questions about online platforms and f2f guidelines. There are certainly general standards. If you want more detailed information, email the professor. Just know most of us are in the thick of planning and don’t have those answers this early. If that bothers students, sign up for a different course.
Edited to add: This is nothing new. That’s why colleges have an add/drop (aka “shopping”) period. Students register, but if they attend the first class and don’t like what’s on the syllabus, they drop or find a different section. Students have always gone to the bookstore (in person or online) to get a feel for what texts a professor ordered. If they don’t like what they see, they avoid the course.
@ProfSD Not being able to set and maintain standards is troubling. For instance, synchronous classes are problematic for schools that have remote students across the globe. Schools should have a position on that, not individual lecturers or profs.
But, best of luck to you, your students, and your school.
