In this week’s roundup: The CDC announced new recommendations for opening campuses in the fall, ICE released new requirements for international students and rising high school seniors provide insight into their fears about going to college amidst the coronavirus pandemic.
Stay tuned for our weekly roundup on what trends we’re seeing across institutions, how individual colleges and universities are responding to them and what national policy changes are affecting higher ed.
Week of July 1 - 8
- The CDC announced that it does not recommend testing all students, faculty and staff as soon as individuals return to campus.
- ICE released their requirements for international students when it comes to in-person vs. remote instruction. Harvard and MIT have moved to block the ruling.
- After announcing their plans to return to campus, Cornell University released a study which predicts that having an in-person fall semester will lead to fewer cases — and deaths — from COVID-19 than one that is fully remote.
- More colleges and universities, including Harvard, Princeton and Rutgers, are making the decision to hold class mostly online this fall.
- Other colleges and universities, including Hampton University and University of Southern California, are walking back on prior decisions to have in-person fall classes. Instead, students will primarily take their classes online.
- Faculty members at several institutions are voicing their concern over returning to campus in the fall.
- More students and their families, as well as colleges and universities, are looking into tuition insurance due to the uncertainty surrounding the fall semester.
- The future of the DACA program is uncertain, as prospective applicants are unsure if they can or should apply.
- Black college students and instructors at numerous institutions have taken to Instagram to recount their experiences with racism and inform audiences about how to be actively anti-racist.
- Incoming students at several colleges and universities have had their admission rescinded in response to racist actions and slurs.
- Rising high school seniors responded to a survey by the Art and Science Group, providing several insights, including the fact that two-thirds fear their qualifications to attend college were negatively impacted during the pandemic.
- Application numbers for the FAFSA are taking a major hit in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- The University System of Georgia is now requiring that everyone on state campuses wear a mask when proper social distancing is not possible. This comes after 8,700 people signed a petition calling for this action, as well as 800 Georgia Tech faculty signing a similar one.
- After Florida State University announced that the university would “no longer allow employees to care for children while working remotely,” complaints and backlash from employees multiplied. This led to the university sending an email trying to clarify their meaning.
