Will you let your kid go back to college in the fall if things are the same?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a conversation with other professors we had the discussion that the students being back doesn't necessarily mean we have to be in-person. I'm all for the students moving back to campus, having access to campus resources (as appropriate), safety measures in place for staff that have to be on campus (food service, cleaning staff), etc. But many non-lab classes could be moved online. This would keep the students from mixing in random groups inside stuffy rooms with shared desks and it would reduce contact with faculty and staff who may be at higher risk.

All of that said, all it will take is one kid, in one dorm or shared living area, getting sick and dying and it will all be back to this.

I'm a professor and I agree with this. Most traditional lecture courses do not involve a whole lot of student-professor and student-student interaction. There is no reason those courses can't be done using online lectures (live or recorded) mixed with some live sessions that encourage interaction. I read that article going around about knowing the risks and avoiding them. It made me feel nervous about spending multiple hours per week in windowless rooms of 30-40 students who are not likely to be doing much, if any, social distancing. Those classes are scheduled in classrooms that barely hold more than the class size. Moving them to a larger room won't work because classroom space is hard to come by as it is. There aren't enough 75- or 100-person rooms to move all the 30-40-person classes into them. I think the decision is going to be made for us by local health officials. They will want physical distancing in classrooms, and will probably advise us to move courses in which this is not possible to online. If this happens it would free up a lot of classroom space for the classes that really need to be done in person.

I am also concerned about what school will look like for my young kids next year. If they aren't in school on the days I am scheduled to teach, I can't come to campus those days.

You're a college professor and you can't figure that out?

Exactly! You have a job that was agreed to be in-person. I get that you now like the remote option but your customers don't. You can't just decide to change that. My child chose to attend a SLAC where the classes are small and she is very close to her professors and this remote learning plan is a completely different experience.

College campuses have always dealt with students and faculty coming in close contact with one another and the potential to spread illness. I know several friends of my daughter who have been hospitalized during college for a few days or weeks for flu, mono etc. If people are looking for a 100% guarantee that they won't be exposed to viruses then they should not be going out in public in general. And maybe that means changing careers. I just hope colleges don't move classes online for fear they are going to be sued by parents or faculty who expect, unrealistically, that they can provide complete protection from illness.

I agreed to teach X number of courses per year, not to a specific format. That's all that is in my contract. I absolutely can decide that if local health officials are recommending physical distancing. I like teaching in the classroom but not during a pandemic that is not at all under control in my area. I am not at a SLAC and I am not a customer service representative. The students I teach are way less entitled than the parents posting here. I bet half of you will continue teleworking while telling professors they need to be side by side with your special children who deserve nothing but faculty willing to risk their health and lives for them.

My business has customers just like higher ed does and we will be meeting with them and our partners when we are allowed. If stores and gyms and other businesses are open then of course colleges should be. Today they are not but by fall they should be. If you teach at a college or university where they are fine to have all classes online instead of in person and most people don’t see the big difference then it’s not the same type of college my child attends. For schools where being there and interacting is a key part of the Experience that students and their parents pay for, they will be met with many people taking time off until they can get back to classroom or campus experiences. It might mean less revenue for schools and pay cuts, which I’ve been faced with in my family. That’s the reality of what’s going on right now. Not optimal but if the schools make that decision they will have to accept the response.

I bet your customers don't sleep in dorms with shared bathrooms, or do they? Because colleges are akin to prisons, nursing homes, boats...The AAUP's view is that professors can decide on the mode of instruction in their courses.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In a conversation with other professors we had the discussion that the students being back doesn't necessarily mean we have to be in-person. I'm all for the students moving back to campus, having access to campus resources (as appropriate), safety measures in place for staff that have to be on campus (food service, cleaning staff), etc. But many non-lab classes could be moved online. This would keep the students from mixing in random groups inside stuffy rooms with shared desks and it would reduce contact with faculty and staff who may be at higher risk.

All of that said, all it will take is one kid, in one dorm or shared living area, getting sick and dying and it will all be back to this.

I'm a professor and I agree with this. Most traditional lecture courses do not involve a whole lot of student-professor and student-student interaction. There is no reason those courses can't be done using online lectures (live or recorded) mixed with some live sessions that encourage interaction. I read that article going around about knowing the risks and avoiding them. It made me feel nervous about spending multiple hours per week in windowless rooms of 30-40 students who are not likely to be doing much, if any, social distancing. Those classes are scheduled in classrooms that barely hold more than the class size. Moving them to a larger room won't work because classroom space is hard to come by as it is. There aren't enough 75- or 100-person rooms to move all the 30-40-person classes into them. I think the decision is going to be made for us by local health officials. They will want physical distancing in classrooms, and will probably advise us to move courses in which this is not possible to online. If this happens it would free up a lot of classroom space for the classes that really need to be done in person.

I am also concerned about what school will look like for my young kids next year. If they aren't in school on the days I am scheduled to teach, I can't come to campus those days.

You're a college professor and you can't figure that out?

Exactly! You have a job that was agreed to be in-person. I get that you now like the remote option but your customers don't. You can't just decide to change that. My child chose to attend a SLAC where the classes are small and she is very close to her professors and this remote learning plan is a completely different experience.

College campuses have always dealt with students and faculty coming in close contact with one another and the potential to spread illness. I know several friends of my daughter who have been hospitalized during college for a few days or weeks for flu, mono etc. If people are looking for a 100% guarantee that they won't be exposed to viruses then they should not be going out in public in general. And maybe that means changing careers. I just hope colleges don't move classes online for fear they are going to be sued by parents or faculty who expect, unrealistically, that they can provide complete protection from illness.

I agreed to teach X number of courses per year, not to a specific format. That's all that is in my contract. I absolutely can decide that if local health officials are recommending physical distancing. I like teaching in the classroom but not during a pandemic that is not at all under control in my area. I am not at a SLAC and I am not a customer service representative. The students I teach are way less entitled than the parents posting here. I bet half of you will continue teleworking while telling professors they need to be side by side with your special children who deserve nothing but faculty willing to risk their health and lives for them.

My business has customers just like higher ed does and we will be meeting with them and our partners when we are allowed. If stores and gyms and other businesses are open then of course colleges should be. Today they are not but by fall they should be. If you teach at a college or university where they are fine to have all classes online instead of in person and most people don’t see the big difference then it’s not the same type of college my child attends. For schools where being there and interacting is a key part of the Experience that students and their parents pay for, they will be met with many people taking time off until they can get back to classroom or campus experiences. It might mean less revenue for schools and pay cuts, which I’ve been faced with in my family. That’s the reality of what’s going on right now. Not optimal but if the schools make that decision they will have to accept the response.

I bet your customers don't sleep in dorms with shared bathrooms, or do they? Because colleges are akin to prisons, nursing homes, boats...The AAUP's view is that professors can decide on the mode of instruction in their courses.

Exactly. And I wouldn't be so quick to assume that business and gyms will be open as usual, at least not in higher density areas outside of the south. I am willing to bet that large companies will be coming out with guidelines on how many people will be in an office building at one time and how many people can be in a meeting room at once. If colleges and universities have to do this, it's going to be very hard to hold many classes in person.

[Anonymous]

Oh hell yeah my college kid is going back to campus. It’s that or I kill him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oh hell yeah my college kid is going back to campus. It’s that or I kill him.

Sounds like a nice healthy relationship.

[Anonymous]

I think we all will soon see just how fast and wide the virus spreads over the next couple of months and in all age groups. Our youngest daughter who has a disability works part-time in a college dining room and loves her job. However, she will not be returning until there is a vaccine because of the possible risk of infection. There needs to be a coordinated plan at the federal level, but my fear is that after scientists and public health folks speak the truth tomorrow they will soon be dismissed by”The Stable Genius” who is leading the pandemic response and putting us all at risk.

[Anonymous]

If there is still limited testing one contact tracing, my kids are not going to campus in the fall.

[Anonymous]

I was talking to a student who will be entering the University of South Carolina next fall and he said they plan to test every student for coronavirus. Otherwise, the plan to open as as usual.

[Anonymous]

Universities will need to be careful here. Many big name faculty members are over 60, and most are over 50. Really big names can switch universities pretty much whenever they like. If they are told they have to go back and don't feel safe, they may just change jobs to universities that are staying online.
Faculties that feel threatened may walk out en masse.

Diseases tend to spread quickly in university settings. The bathrooms are usually a tragedy of the commons - they aren't cleaned as often as they should be. Dining halls have places where used trays just pile up. It's hard to avoid contact with the used utensils etc. of others.

[Anonymous]

PSA: Labcorp now has reliable antibody screens. Free or $10, depending on whether you walk in or have an MD prescription. They bill your insurance or the government (if Labcorp isn’t your preferred lab).

We think there is a good chance a COVID went through our house in late February. Kids mildly ill. Adults pretty sick. Flu and strep negative. But no COVID testing available. So, we are getting testing done tomorrow (except my sophomore. They aren’t testing minors yet). I know it’s not 100% guarantee of no reinfection. But I’ll feel a lot better if my senior tests positive. It’s some protection and decreases the possibility that he will get sick on campus, get others sick, or be quarantined on campus. I’ll also feel better about him taking a customer facing summer job.

He’s headed to a SLAC where 80% of the classes are less than 20 kids. So that’s a relief too. Of course residence halls, dining halls, etc are still a huge problem. But there is no reason most classes can’t be in person (if the professor isn’t high risk).

[Anonymous]

If professors don’t want to go back and only teach online, they should be willing to take a pay cut. No way should we be paying full cost for online. Many businesses including mine have instituted a 20% pay cut because of decreased sales.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh hell yeah my college kid is going back to campus. It’s that or I kill him.

Sounds like a nice healthy relationship.

NP. Buzz off. Not all young adults are fun to live with when they are forced home, and have house rules again. PP's feelings are valid.

[Anonymous]

I have 3 college students and two of the three will take a leave of absence if classes are online in the fall. One is studying to be a teacher and online education courses are pretty awful. The other one has an online internship that is better than online classes so he will stick with the internship until his school opens up. I don't envy administrators of universities, there are going to be budget cuts either way.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have 3 college students and two of the three will take a leave of absence if classes are online in the fall. One is studying to be a teacher and online education courses are pretty awful. The other one has an online internship that is better than online classes so he will stick with the internship until his school opens up. I don't envy administrators of universities, there are going to be budget cuts either way.

Have they already researched this? Most colleges require you to unenroll and reapply. You can’t just take a year off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If professors don’t want to go back and only teach online, they should be willing to take a pay cut. No way should we be paying full cost for online. Many businesses including mine have instituted a 20% pay cut because of decreased sales.

Yes I would guess this is what it will come to if everything ends up being moved to online and fewer students want that version of classes. My rising senior will take a leave of absence until she can attend in person classes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have 3 college students and two of the three will take a leave of absence if classes are online in the fall. One is studying to be a teacher and online education courses are pretty awful. The other one has an online internship that is better than online classes so he will stick with the internship until his school opens up. I don't envy administrators of universities, there are going to be budget cuts either way.

Have they already researched this? Most colleges require you to unenroll and reapply. You can’t just take a year off.

Yes, Emory told DS that he could take a leave for fall semester. The education student also can take a semester off at a state school. The third student will return no matter what.