Colleges and Universities almost universally plan to be open in the fall

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm a professor. Our college is saying it plans to be open, with residential students, offering in-person classes as long as the governors/health advisors agree. They are also telling us profs that it will NOT be normal even if in person, that we will likely have to teach on-line and that we should have our classes ready for closure at any time. So, they are assuming all will be fine, but preparing for that to change. It's just reality.

You ready to put your life on the line to teach these students in person, professor?

[Anonymous]

Aren't you the little ray of sunshine?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Aren't you the little ray of sunshine?

Believe me, college faculty members will be some of the most vulnerable people on campus. They're thinking about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't you the little ray of sunshine?

Believe me, college faculty members will be some of the most vulnerable people on campus. They're thinking about it.

Another professor here. I’m definitely concerned. My students are not more important to me than my children. If I am pressured to teach in person and don’t feel it is safe to do so, I will move my courses online. I am not beholden to parents’ wishes. Your kids are not more important to me than mine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't you the little ray of sunshine?

Believe me, college faculty members will be some of the most vulnerable people on campus. They're thinking about it.

Another professor here. I’m definitely concerned. My students are not more important to me than my children. If I am pressured to teach in person and don’t feel it is safe to do so, I will move my courses online. I am not beholden to parents’ wishes. Your kids are not more important to me than mine.

Absolutely. If the situation is like now or worse, and they force us to teach ftf, I will ask for an unpaid leave. If I can't get that, which is possible as I don't see how they can find people to fill in for my classes, I will try to buy a gas mask and hazmat outfit and stand in front of the classroom pressing buttons to deliver my pre-recorded lectures (I doubt one can lecture well in that kind of gear). Only half kidding. But I am very worried about DH and losing tenure over this. But it's better that we lose tenure than that our kids end up losing one or both parents. To the other profs out there, do you think they can force us to teach f2f?
Young adults won't social distance during study groups, avoid parties etc. all semester long, for the benefit of their professors and dining room staff. Not to even mention the petri dishes, or dormitories.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't you the little ray of sunshine?

Believe me, college faculty members will be some of the most vulnerable people on campus. They're thinking about it.

Another professor here. I’m definitely concerned. My students are not more important to me than my children. If I am pressured to teach in person and don’t feel it is safe to do so, I will move my courses online. I am not beholden to parents’ wishes. Your kids are not more important to me than mine.

Wouldn’t you feel safe if everyone wore a mask?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Aren't you the little ray of sunshine?

Believe me, college faculty members will be some of the most vulnerable people on campus. They're thinking about it.

Another professor here. I’m definitely concerned. My students are not more important to me than my children. If I am pressured to teach in person and don’t feel it is safe to do so, I will move my courses online. I am not beholden to parents’ wishes. Your kids are not more important to me than mine.

Absolutely. If the situation is like now or worse, and they force us to teach ftf, I will ask for an unpaid leave. If I can't get that, which is possible as I don't see how they can find people to fill in for my classes, I will try to buy a gas mask and hazmat outfit and stand in front of the classroom pressing buttons to deliver my pre-recorded lectures (I doubt one can lecture well in that kind of gear). Only half kidding. But I am very worried about DH and losing tenure over this. But it's better that we lose tenure than that our kids end up losing one or both parents. To the other profs out there, do you think they can force us to teach f2f?
Young adults won't social distance during study groups, avoid parties etc. all semester long, for the benefit of their professors and dining room staff. Not to even mention the petri dishes, or dormitories.

Gosh, if you get covid—which is highly likely whether you return to the classroom or even if you quit—you are likely to survive. Your case is even likely to be mild. You will then have immunity.

[Anonymous]

Here is the Wall Street Journal article, but without the required subscription. It's a reality-forcing read.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/coronavirus-pushes-colleges-to-the-breaking-point-forcing-hard-choices-about-education/ar-BB13qkTg?li=BBnb7Kz

[Anonymous]

What makes you professors so much more special than anyone else that needs to make a living and has to interact with the general public?

It looks to me like there might be some job openings coming up in academia!

[Anonymous]

Seems to me that a professor could distance him/herself from the students much more easily than the students could. Both standing up in the front of the room and in office hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seems to me that a professor could distance him/herself from the students much more easily than the students could. Both standing up in the front of the room and in office hours.

Agreed. And sad no one is talking about staff like cafeteria workers who cannot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What makes you professors so much more special than anyone else that needs to make a living and has to interact with the general public?

It looks to me like there might be some job openings coming up in academia!

They are due for a rude awakening. The ivory towers will not be the same after this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's a money thing.

Brown's President spoke this week about the SERIOUS financial difficulty facing schools this Fall.

https://www.wpri.com/news/education/colleges-could-permanently-close-if-they-dont-reopen-this-fall-brown-u-president-warns/

“Even before the coronavirus pandemic there were predictions that large numbers of universities and colleges would have to close for financial reasons in the coming decade,” Paxson said in a Zoom interview Sunday evening. “A lot of them were teetering on the brink financially, and this is the kind of thing that if a university or a small college has to go an entire semester without tuition, room and board, I don’t see how they make it.”



I'm not sure Brown is hurting but there are certainly some smaller schools that might find themselves in trouble with Fall's revenue.

Actually, the smaller private schools may be less in danger as they have smaller numbers to fill, smaller budgets to cover and more control over adapting to the virus. I'm most worried about the mid-sized/larger schools that got beyond their skis in the competitive college arms race and the non-flagship public colleges in states with no funds to bail them out.

Highly selective schools are not primarily concerned about filling seats. Even if every last seat is filled and parents are willing to pay full tuition for what is certain to be a not-normal (and possibly partially to heavily online) experience in the fall, these schools are still losing HUGE amounts of money from canceled summer programming, likely loss of many/all full-pay international students for some period of time, cancellation of revenue-generating programs/events (e.g. athletics), significantly reduced philanthropy, etc. And schools that own health systems are in even bigger trouble (see Hopkins). The budget issues even for top-ranked private schools are massive. I’m not saying these schools will close; of course they won’t. But the climb back from this is going to be slow and painful.

(And, no, these schools cannot tap their endowments to cover these operating losses. Endowed giving is restricted in its use based on donor intent, spelled out in legally binding gift agreements.)

[Anonymous]

Say it with me, people: "The word of the day is....."

S-P-E-C-U-L-A-T-I-O-N.

Go ahead, use it in a sentence. Hell, use it in ten pages of sentences.......

[Anonymous]

I'm deciding that is what people do when they are nervous and have no control.