Considerations for Reopening Institutions of Higher Education for the Fall Semester 2021 – ACHA Guidelines
In this second year of the pandemic, institutions of higher education (IHEs) and their faculty, staff, and students are optimistic that the fall 2021 academic term will be far different than last fall, with a gradual return toward normalcy. Even with the resumption of research, academic, and co-curricular activities characteristic of a thriving campus, the unprecedented disruption to campus communities and the widespread financial, academic, social, emotional, and physical impacts resulting from the pandemic will require institutional attention, resources, and planning on multiple fronts for the foreseeable future.
Although COVID-19 vaccine is now widely available, not every eligible American will be vaccinated, making achievement of community (herd) immunity elusive. The emergence of more transmissible variant strains of SARSCoV-2 may necessitate masking, hygiene, distancing, cleaning, and disinfection to some extent this fall, and perhaps beyond. The testing, contact tracing, quarantine, isolation, and remote monitoring systems established over the past year should also be retained to some extent, with modifications made in accordance with case prevalence and as vaccination uptake increases in the campus community.
In some respects, preparing for fall 2021 may be more complicated than it was for the two previous academic terms, as IHEs must maintain monitoring and surveillance processes, enforce masking and distancing, distinguish between a vaccinated and unvaccinated cohort, provide a rich and robust learning and living experience, and optimize the health and safety of a fully occupied campus. It is a tall order in the face of two key unknowns—the extent of variant strains of SARS CoV-2 and the level of vaccination of the campus community