Anonymous wrote:How does this work at a school where everyone lives on campus in close quarters?

So far even UW in Seattle is not closing dorms and they also house a major hospital etc. But 2 students in a room or 50-100 on a floor still means people are further apart than they are in a lecture hall. The goal is to keep people more than a yard apart. But they say they realize that college students share - food, sex, devices, books and notes - and more steps may need to be made in the future beyond making all classes online.

They say they are cleaning and disinfecting more frequently and have been planning for some separate living quarters for people who may become ill. They have banned all travel by faculty - to keep them from potentially spreading virus to new places, and are not bringing new people ?prospective students, speakers, conferences) to campus.

How does this work at a school where everyone lives on campus in close quarters?

In a warm weather state, I wonder if they could hold class outside as much as possible. I had a professor in college that would have us go outside to a small amphitheater if the weather was nice.

As a professor who has taught both in person and hybrid, I can tell you it’s much more work for me to prep for my hybrid class. Having said such, I’m prepping everyday th it a week to move my face to face classes and hybrid classes completely online-just in case.

What does that mean? That all of my group work is pushed to a relevant online app - not just filling in bubbles, that my lecture is put into a PowerPoint-like format with accompanying note taking template that students need to fill out, that class discussion is moved onto a discussion app, etc. there’s a lot for me to do, but in the end, all of my classes will be online ready, just in case.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I question the cost vs benefit, although there are so many unknowns. What happens when, two weeks from now, some other person with a connection to the university tests positive? This could go on for months.

Intuitively, my guess is that the horse is very far out of the barn at this point. Colleges calling off in-person classes doesn't seem likely to make a difference, especially since the students are living on campus anyway.

The idea is that mass quarantines can stop the spread. If we believe the Chinese (not sure) what they did succeeded in halting the spread and emergence of new cases. So, if everything shut down and people actually followed the quarantine guidelines here, it might minimize the spread and rate of COVID19 infection.

But the campus is not under quarantine. Students are living their lives, just without going to class. Surely they're going to the library and the dining hall and the gym... The public and private schools near the university are still open.

Cleaning should happen, especially at locations that the known individual would frequent.

Stanford is doing this for 2 weeks and then there is spring break. If the spread gets worse they may not come back as scheduled.

Every meal at the dining hall is a large public gathering...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I question the cost vs benefit, although there are so many unknowns. What happens when, two weeks from now, some other person with a connection to the university tests positive? This could go on for months.

Intuitively, my guess is that the horse is very far out of the barn at this point. Colleges calling off in-person classes doesn't seem likely to make a difference, especially since the students are living on campus anyway.

The idea is that mass quarantines can stop the spread. If we believe the Chinese (not sure) what they did succeeded in halting the spread and emergence of new cases. So, if everything shut down and people actually followed the quarantine guidelines here, it might minimize the spread and rate of COVID19 infection.

But the campus is not under quarantine. Students are living their lives, just without going to class. Surely they're going to the library and the dining hall and the gym... The public and private schools near the university are still open.

Cleaning should happen, especially at locations that the known individual would frequent.

Anonymous wrote:I question the cost vs benefit, although there are so many unknowns. What happens when, two weeks from now, some other person with a connection to the university tests positive? This could go on for months.

Intuitively, my guess is that the horse is very far out of the barn at this point. Colleges calling off in-person classes doesn't seem likely to make a difference, especially since the students are living on campus anyway.

The idea is that mass quarantines can stop the spread. If we believe the Chinese (not sure) what they did succeeded in halting the spread and emergence of new cases. So, if everything shut down and people actually followed the quarantine guidelines here, it might minimize the spread and rate of COVID19 infection.

I question the cost vs benefit, although there are so many unknowns. What happens when, two weeks from now, some other person with a connection to the university tests positive? This could go on for months.

Intuitively, my guess is that the horse is very far out of the barn at this point. Colleges calling off in-person classes doesn't seem likely to make a difference, especially since the students are living on campus anyway.

Anonymous wrote:As parent who paid an insane amount of tuition, yes I am worried about the money. That said, I also want the kids (and associated school workers) safe and healthy. Not sure what the correct response is at this point.

Why do think an online course is less valuable than one in person?

It actually takes more time to prepare.

As parent who paid an insane amount of tuition, yes I am worried about the money. That said, I also want the kids (and associated school workers) safe and healthy. Not sure what the correct response is at this point.

If the schools go on-line, will they still house and feed the students?

DC is home tonight for spring break from RPI. DC’s college has a tier I and a Tier 2 response. Tier 1 is if anyone within 25 miles of the campus is diagnosed. Then any meetings/assemblies.... of 50 or more that include outside people will be cancelled. That happened today. Tier 2 is if anyone in the college community (on campus) is diagnosed with it then they shut down campus and will do online classes for a month. They instructed the students to over pack for spring break and bring home their laptops, class notes, textbooks and contacts to classmates and professors.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about labs? I want my tuition back.

We are on the verge of a pandemic. And you are worried about tuition? May as well have your kid drop out and come home because it could get more disruptive.

NP. I think it’s fair for the school to, at some point, reimburse lab fees if the students aren’t going to be able to do the labs. Why would the school need the fees? It doesn’t mean this is all the PP is thinking about, but college isn’t cheap.

But they're only canceling 2 weeks of classes. I wouldn't expect a refund of lab fees if students have completed 80% of the labs. I'm sure the process of moving everything online will cost them a good amount of money, and they won't be charging a fee for that. (If classes are 100% online next quarter, that's when I would contest the lab fees.)

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What about labs? I want my tuition back.

We are on the verge of a pandemic. And you are worried about tuition? May as well have your kid drop out and come home because it could get more disruptive.

NP. I think it’s fair for the school to, at some point, reimburse lab fees if the students aren’t going to be able to do the labs. Why would the school need the fees? It doesn’t mean this is all the PP is thinking about, but college isn’t cheap.