Photo | Grant Welker
MCPHS University in Worcester
May 27, 2020
Mass. college presidents detail fall semester possibilities
Photo | Grant Welker
Becker College in Worcester
By Grant Welker
If or when college students return to Massachusetts campuses this fall, little is likely to look familiar.
Small classes might be moved into larger classrooms to allow for proper spacing between desks. Dining halls might have prepared food for carry-out. Residence halls may group students by shared courses or into household-like arrangements so the number of contacts are minimized.
It may be weeks more until any plans are finalized for the fall semester, according to a report filed Wednesday by the Massachusetts Higher Education Working Group, a board made up of 14 college presidents across the state. A survey conducted by the group found three-fourths of college presidents don't anticipate announcing their plans for the fall until July 1 or later, and nearly half said they'd need four weeks or less to prepare their campus for re-opening.
That leaves potentially weeks more for college leaders and others to monitor the coronavirus pandemic, gauge whether or how to return students to campus, and then create detailed plans for operating during an ongoing health crisis. Students across the state were sent home in March, with classes moved online once the reality of the pandemic's danger quickly hit.
The higher education working group was chaired by Laurie Leshin, the Worcester Polytechnic Institute president who also served on Gov. Charlie Baker's reopening advisory group. Other members of the working group included Framingham State University President Javier Cevallos, Fitchburg State University President Richard Lapidus and Paula Rooney, president of Dean College in Franklin.
Uncertainty has remained not only for on-campus operations but also for admissions. Many schools pushed back their typical May 1 deadline for fall admissions to June 1, giving students more time to figure out where they want to enroll if classes can't be held as planned or dorms can't be filled.
However, when college campuses open, it's not bound to be part of a uniform policy.
Colleges are so different, the group said — residential or commuter, urban or rural, large endowment or tuition-dependent — a one-size-fits-all approach wouldn't allow for individual schools to choose their own plans. Each institution should have its own plan for how physical distancing could be accomplished, as well as protocols for symptom monitoring, social distancing and availability of quarantine space, the group's report said.
The report calls for a phased reopening of colleges similar to how Massachusetts has reopened businesses: first with places with less face-to-face contact, and more businesses slowly as public health data indicates it's safe to do so.
Research labs would be among the first to open, for example, because of the ability for controlling distancing and use of personal protective equipment. Labs are more used to managing exposure risks, the group said. The first phase would include allowing students to retrieve belongings left in their dorms from the spring.
A second phase would include reopening classrooms, dining halls and housing on a small scale once there's enough supply of tests and protective equipment for small numbers of people to participate in on-campus programs. The report didn't specify what those levels would be.
Photo | Grant Welker
Framingham State University
A third phase would allow for a broader occupancy of dorms that could include clustering students who share more courses or other ways of minimizing exposure. Schools would monitor social distancing and wearing of masks outside bedrooms. This phase would begin when testing, contact tracing and isolation protocols are in place, the group said.
Returning to typical operations — a new normal, the group said — wouldn't take place until a vaccine or other medical treatment is widely available, leaving the possibility such a scenario is still a long way off. The group described herd immunity as potentially allowing normal operations, when a large enough share of the population has contracted the virus to be immune from getting it again.
The group asked the state to help colleges secure testing, protective equipment and cleaning supplies, and waive schools' liabilities if they reopen under measures consistent with state protocols.
A survey the group conducted of 86 college presidents across the state found leaders to be most confident in sanitizing campus spaces, but much less so of testing students, faculty and staff.
More than nine out of 10 said they had very high confidence they could sanitize common campus spaces or ensure safe workspaces for staff and faculty who need to work on campus. Of those who responded, 81% said they could set aside space for isolating or quarantining students if needed. As for testing or screening, 59% said they were very or somewhat confident they could take that step for all students, faculty and staff on campus.
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