In this week’s roundup:
The American College Health Association released guidance for protecting vulnerable campus populations during the pandemic, NY State Governor Andrew Cuomo released guidance to NY higher education institutions for determining when to shift from in-person to remote, and more than 600 scholars have committed to a #ScholarStrike against police violence in America.
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 26 - September 2
- The American College Health Association released new guidelines to help college and university officials protect the vulnerable populations on their campuses throughout the pandemic.
- A new bill in California making its way through the state legislature will likely conflict with the new federal Title IX regulations. Prohibiting victims and the accused from cross-examining each other and allowing campus officials to determine if a hearing is necessary, the proposed bill points to two major critiques of the federal regulation.
- New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, released guidance to higher education institutions on infection rates. This comes in response to the national reports of high infection rates in other states following institutions’ reopening.
- In addition, a handful of other institutions have released their known criteria for shutting down the in-person experience.
- For many small colleges, decisions around fall sports could put the survival of their institution at stake.
- As coronavirus cases rise on campuses across the country, colleges and universities continue to suspend students and organizations in an attempt to stop the spread.
- Messages of blame and shame are not being received well by students. Instead, experts suggest empathy and setting realistic standards that diminish the chance of super spreader events but may leave the door open for other ways of staying socially connected.
- In Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where the University of Alabama recently reported an increase of more than 500 new cases, the mayor announced the closure of bars for two weeks.
- The National Student Clearinghouse Research Center released a report about U.S. college enrollments, confirming fears that the biggest drops in enrollment would come from vulnerable and already underrepresented populations.
- More than 600 scholars across several institutions have committed to a #ScholarStrike on September 8 and 9, to draw attention to and protest the continued police violence against unarmed Black people.
- In an effort to maintain the traditional college aspect of living on your own, college students from several institutions have formed “collab houses,” as groups of friends rent a house in desirable locales nowhere near campus.
- With students returning, college campuses are being utilized as research labs for different measures to combat COVID-19, like health-check apps, wastewater tests and contact technologies.
- As November approaches, student activist groups are working to increase young voter turnout through a variety of remote tactics.
