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Harvard closing for rest of semester
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Anonymous
Choose words carefully. There is a difference between being out of work... and being DEAD because no one closed anything and hospitals can't cope. One is reversible, the other isn't. And lose the economic argument, already. The economy is going to get a much bigger hit, and more people are going to lose jobs, if we can't get this under control rapidly. Rapid control means closures and quarantines for the time being. Short term pain, long term gain. Something so many people have trouble understanding. |
Anonymous
| My DH is a professor at one of these universities. It is going to be a giant PITA and worse for the students, because Zoom etc. don't lead to good classroom discussion. He hates just lecturing. He'll try to interact as much as possible, but it's a sad thing for the students who pay a lot for their education and deserve the full experience. |
Anonymous
Right no one would accept this type of experiment under other circumstances. I bet there is more capability than you think too. My son goes to a small private school (not ivy level) and most lectures are available on line for review or make up. He says some teachers will use that if they are sick or?? |
Anonymous
Harvard is returning part of the tuition, correct? |
Anonymous
They probably don't want them living in close proximity in dorms then spreading their germs to other people in the towns or cities. |
Anonymous
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I can't begin to imagine the PITA for these students. What about families unprepared/unable to house students?
And what about foreign students? What about 3rd worlders? Are they supposed to travel home and hope for some sort of reliable internet connection? I think everyone should get their tuition reimbursed. |
Anonymous
Or going home to places like Seattle for break, and bringing the virus back with them. |
Anonymous
Well probably better than quarantined in a dorm without a kitchen for 3-6 months |
Anonymous
The universities that have taken this step are allowing students who cannot leave to stay. It's on a case by case basis. They know that unplanned travel is going to be a disruption, but they want to reduce the number of people on campus. No tuition is going to be reimbursed because they are (technically) still allowing students to earn credit toward a degree. A student from UMD who is now under self-quarantine at her permanent residence (returned from Italy) says she will get zero reimbursement for tuition or housing. |
Anonymous
You are way out of touch if you think most universities don't already do this. |
Anonymous
Universities - yes. My DH teaches at UMD and some of his classes are 100% online, some are blended and some are 100% in person. My kid's small liberal arts college - nothing is done online save for syllabus and assignment postings and submission of papers. |
Anonymous
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UMD is also expanding server space and so forth to deal with POTENTIAL increased demand on its online learning platform if UMD goes to online learning for all.
As it is npw, all faculty have file size limits to contend with depending on whether their class is delivered wholly or partially online. |
Anonymous
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Harvard parent here.
We were all blindsided by this. Everyone is scrambling to figure out what to do. A reimbursement for room and board would be very nice but I'm not holding my breath onthat. Just wonder if this is just the tip of the iceberg and everything else will shut down too. Harvard does have a pretty prestigious school of public health... |
Anonymous
| I have a kid who plays team sports at one of the schools mentioned here. We haven't yet heard whether kids will be allowed to return to campus and attend spring practice. Anyone know? |
Anonymous
I don't know. My son is in a similar situation. Amherst cancelled all spring sports. We are hoping once everybody else is gone they will let Spring Sports go on, classes online and no using the locker room. |