When colleges expanded spring breaks and then closed campuses for the remainder of the spring term, they felt that this response would get them past the coronavirus crisis. They hoped that campuses would reopen, if not normally in September, at least in a general approximation of normal. Now, that expectation is being questioned. Many colleges are beginning to plan for students to return to campus no earlier than January 2021.
Too Many Buildings, Not Enough Bandwidth
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in numerous immediate changes in higher education—online education only, closed campuses, remote work for faculty and staff. While many may hope these changes are temporary and things will go back to the way they were, that is quite likely not what will happen. Pressures have been building for several years to move more courses and programs online. Although many institutions already offer some online learning, it has not been without resistance from various stakeholders, especially faculty.
Planning in an Age of Uncertainty—Part 2: Tabletop Exercises
In an earlier blog, I looked at Scenario Planning as a strategy for dealing with the gross uncertainty that colleges and universities face relating to the upcoming academic year. We do not know if and when campuses might reopen; and when they do, we do not know how many students will return.
Planning in an Age of Uncertainty—Part 1: Scenario Planning
Most of us are still reeling from the initial shock of coronavirus. Every element of our being has been upended. As it is for everyone and every organization around the world, we in academe are focused on survival.
Coping With Catastrophes—Lessons Learned From Natural and Human-Made Disasters
The COVID-19 pandemic is a natural disaster that has created a crisis for higher education institutions. Perhaps more accurately, COVID-19 has layered an immediate crisis on top of an emerging crisis for higher education. As terrible as the current crisis is, COVID-19 is not the first disaster to hit higher education institutions, and it will not be the last. Many lessons have been drawn from previous crises that can inform our behavior as we face the immediate pandemic crisis as well as the longer-term, growing crisis in higher education.