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

[Anonymous]

That’s because those are the rules right now. When colleges open, most kids will go.

[Anonymous]

^forgot to quote. 5/9 8:59

[Anonymous]

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?

[Anonymous]

My college DS wears a mask all the time and so do his friends. They think it’s kinda cool and he said he has no problem if they are mandatory when he goes back to school. I myself hate wearing a mask and am staying home as much as possible for that very reason. I’m not afraid of the Vistula but I hate the masks and don’t want to be required to wear one. So I will avoid all places that do until this is over.

[Anonymous]

Not afraid of virus is what it was supposed to say up there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
it's hard for some of us to justify college cost with online classes. I hope we going to come out of this with options for online classes at a fraction of the cost.

If you want bargain online classes, there are plenty of options for that. If you want a low student:instructor ratio with teaching done by leaders in their fields, you'll have to pay more.

+1

I'm torn - one the one hand, students are not physically able to socially distance in class (classrooms are not big enough to sit very other row), and dorms are not big enough to have enough singular rooms, but you do have to pay for what you do get.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have to believe that by the fall, this country will come to its senses. Hopefully the federal government takes some command of the situation and enough governors get on board to create social distancing that involves primarily isolation the sick and vulnerable communities so the rest of us can get on with life and our children in particular don't continue suffer the gravest consequences. Colleges should open and run almost as normal--with at risk students, faculty, and staff, taking the precautions they need to--and when they do, yes, my student will be back.

I hate to break it to you, but many students and professors are vulnerable. How do we handle that?

We do have elderly professors on campus but I've never seen an obese professor at the University in my town. I think there is too much walking involved to get from your car to your office on campus. We do have a few overweight janitorial staff on campus but again the janitorial staff has to do pretty significant walking each day to get from their cars to the buildings that they clean. It is very rare to see overweight college students in my town.

Janitorial staff over 60 is at some risk and the elderly professors (we have some in their 80"s) would be at some risk. Risk to the 17-21 year olds is pretty negligible.
A college student might catch covid in a packed bar but they could get it at a bar at home too. The college students will survive covid, the janitorial staff over 60 and professors are the ones at risk.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Absolutely my son will be on campus come August.

[Anonymous]

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'm sorry the pandemic has inconvenienced you.

[Anonymous]

Colleges don’t have the capacity to isolate and take care of too many sick students. Some students will get very sick. There have been many reports of people in their 20’s getting very ill. Smaller numbers compared to the general population but these numbers will be seen on every college campus.

Masks help stop the spread of the virus. It may seem reasonable to wear a mask to the grocery store for a quick trip for food. It is not healthy for college age students to be wearing masks ten hours a day. As much as colleges need students money and students want to go back the reality will be a very risky experience.

[Anonymous]

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?

Can't figure what out? Childcare? My spouse's job is way less flexible than mine so having them watch the kids is not a viable plan. If there is still a lot of COVID transmission going around why would I want to send them to some random daycare that is open for essential workers (which I am not) or have a babysitter coming over who has been who knows where? We don't have local family and I would not put my out of town parents at risk by making them come here. Your snowflake will survive if they have to take a class online for a semester due to a global crisis.

[Anonymous]

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.

[Anonymous]

Lamar Alexander thinks there is not enough testing to reopen large campuses (scroll down). https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/05/11/live-updates-latest-news-coronavirus-and-higher-education

Have any of the smaller colleges come out and said they have enough tests to conduct regular testing of students/faculty/staff?

[Anonymous]

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.