Few colleges are setting clear benchmarks for closing campuses – Education Dive
Though many schools have publicly shared reopening plans, most don’t define guidelines for what would necessitate a campus shutdown.
The trickle has become a flood. Many colleges that initially intended to reopen their campuses have, in recent weeks, accepted the reality of a largely virtual fall.
Some administrators are still holding out hope for a more traditional academic year, crafting intricate strategies to halt the spread of the coronavirus, even as verified case numbers soar nationwide, including thousands linked to college campuses. Often absent from institutions’ plans, however, are the exact conditions under which campuses would have to close like they did in the spring.
Experts who consult with colleges and study campus reopening proposals say officials face an unenviable balancing act.
Tracking the factors that will determine if a campus can operate, such as testing for the virus, will prove complex. So colleges may try to avoid boxing themselves in by creating hard benchmarks that dictate when they must shut down. But they’re also answerable to families, who want to know the circumstances under which schools will send students away.