In this week’s roundup:
Colleges and universities threaten to send students home amid rising case counts, signs point to growing anxiety and depression among students during the pandemic, and the University of Pittsburgh requires a new course for first-year students on anti-Black racism.
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 August 19 - 26
- With case numbers growing, colleges and universities are becoming more aggressive with their messaging about consequences for not following COVID-19 protocols. Three psychology experts weighed in on why undergraduate students make riskier decisions.
- Following announcements of postponed fall sports seasons, athletic departments are turning towards a new focus: their players’ mental health.
- Results from a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey show that young adults reported the highest levels of symptoms of anxiety and depression, among other indicators of worsening mental health for that age group.
- Following increasing numbers of positive COVID-19 tests, colleges and universities in Georgia are reportedly beefing up their COVID-19 testing efforts.
- As colleges make last-minute decisions to offer remote learning, low-income students are disproportionately affected.
- The first day of classes for many colleges and universities did not go off without a hitch. Zoom was down for about five hours, leading many to realize a need for a backup plan.
- Capital University’s virtual welcome for new students on August 20 was “Zoom bombed,” by an unknown source saying obscenities during the interim president’s opening remarks.
- University of Pittsburgh is requiring all first-year students to take a new free course on anti-Black racism.
- The University of Colorado instructed its communication staff to submit any statements dealing with “sensitive” topics (including race, COVID-19, climate change and the First Amendment) to the office of the university president prior to publication. The directive was denounced by a CU regent and chair of the systemwide faculty council as a move to control speech.
- The Institute for Democracy and Higher Education at Tufts University released a memo on how to encourage student voting during (and after) the pandemic.
- Jerry Falwell Jr. resigned as president of Liberty University after a series of scandals. He will reportedly receive a $10.5 million compensation package from the evangelical school.
