10 Things to Consider While Reopening Campus

Strategic planning is nothing new for college admissions professionals and higher education marketers. On a global scale, competition for high-quality, aspiring college students has reached an all-time high. Students are exposed to more options than ever before, thanks to increased marketing efforts and Internet resources.

While COVID-19 has not made recruiting for Fall 2020 any easier, administrators are resilient and continue finding innovative ways to welcome students back. We have developed a list of 10 Things to Consider While Reopening Campus to make the transition to the “new normal” as seamless as possible.

TRAVEL BANS

As of mid-July, 90% of the global population lives in countries with coronavirus-related travel restrictions. These restrictions will significantly impact international student mobility. 

Question for administrators: How will you retain your international population if they are unable to return to campus for the Fall 2020 semester?

SOCIAL DISTANCING

Global guidelines backed by science and research call for six feet of separation to restrict the transmission rate of COVID-19. For most institutions, returning to campus in-person is simply not an option. Davidson College’s College Crisis Initiative (C2i) has collected reopening plans for over 3,000 institutions to determine how the educational format will look upon students return to campus. As cases surge in multiple regions across the United States, colleges have devised plans for students to return in various capacities such as fully in person, fully online, to be determined, and hybrid formats that blend on-campus and online.

Question for administrators: Are your faculty, staff, and students prepared to keep their distance and follow the new educational format?

ACADEMIC BUILDING CAPACITY & SAFETY

As the coronavirus began making global news in March, worldwide shortages of personal protection equipment (PPE) created life-threatening obstacles for hospitals and healthcare workers. Through a collaborative effort, companies that generally function outside the realm of healthcare began working together to fix the problem. With many colleges required to provide hand sanitizer, increased cleaning of surfaces, available face protection, and even free on-site COVID-19 testing, are they allocating enough funding to support this new expense?

Rural and suburban campuses with small student populations may have the space to separate desks, divide large gathering areas into quadrants and schedule max capacity study sessions in the libraries, but where does that leave densely populated urban campuses? For buildings with crammed lecture halls and tightly-packed hallways, social distancing will be more challenging to follow, which may result in decreased enrollment to metropolitan universities.

Question for administrators: Is your institution able to hold classes outdoors, on rooftops, or rent larger off-campuses spaces?

WEATHER INTERFERENCE

In places like Denmark, France, China, and the United States, students of all ages have started moving their desks outside to earn an education while breathing in the fresh air. A study in The Journal of Infectious Diseases shows that 90% of coronavirus particles deactivated within 10 minutes when exposed to UV rays from sunlight, according to a report from HuffPost UK.

What about institutions located in a significantly warm or cold climate? Do students get sent home in the rain? Are classes postponed in the winter months? Will tropical storms like the recent Hurricane Isaias prohibit outdoor gatherings for weeks at a time? While the idea of outdoor learning sounds ideal, space is limited on many campuses, and weather may get in the way.

Question for administrators: How predictable is the weather in your part of the world and will it impact the outdoor classroom?

TECHNOLOGICAL CAPABILITY

In a swift move to complete the Spring 2020 semester, many institutions shifted to a 100% online format. With help from sites like Zoom or GoToMeeting, colleges and universities were able to adjust quickly, but there was an end in sight for most programs. As more faculty and students rely on the Internet for research, course scheduling, homework submissions, and communication, is your network functioning properly? Also, is your community’s personal, financial, and institutional data protected and secure if not on the campus network?

Question for administrators: How will technology shape the way your students learn moving forward?

QUALITY OF EDUCATION

Regarding the hybrid- or fully-online instructional model, tenured faculty and in-class learners felt the impact of COVID-19. Institutions boast about their personalized education, collaborative team projects, and state-of-the-art labs and research facilities. Studies show that as many as 55% of students miss the social learning environment on-campus, and that it actually increases their academic performance. Accessibility to online education is also a challenge. Lack of stable internet, access to computer or technical devices, and inexperience with online learning for both professors and students, could become an increasing problem the next months. Does a change in the educational model limit the quality of education?

Question for administrators: Upon reopening, how will faculty demonstrate safety in the classroom and inspire students, whether on-campus or online?

ATHLETICS, CLUBS, AND ORGANIZATIONS

Many institutions have already cancelled the Fall 2020 athletic schedule, study abroad program, and community service events. How many clubs and organizations will be postponed until Spring 2021? Will this impact students’ interest to return to campus if they are only there to earn a college degree? Half of the on-campus undergraduate student experience happens outside the classroom, so what does this mean for safety protocols on campus?

Question for administrators: What clubs, sports, and organizations can continue their extracurricular activity safely and are there new events or programs your campus can introduce?

RESIDENCE LIFE

What should residential students expect upon returning to campus? What if one of them gets sick? Can your institution designate a residence facility to quarantine students that have tested positive but are not showing at-risk health complications? While some students have opted to take a gap year or live at home during the Fall 2020 semester, others still crave traditional college life. Institutions around the world have urged their students remain on campus for the duration of the semester to stop the spread of COVID-19.

Question for administrators: Are you able to fill your residence halls without breaking social distancing guidelines? How can you ensure the safety and cooperation of students and relay the message to their families?

FINANCIAL AID

Economic factors come in to play as some families may not be in the same position now as they were in Fall 2019. Campuses across North America are reallocating financial aid budgets and rethinking tuition structure in the wake of COVID-19. What will happen to athletic scholarships if students are unable to play? If the online format impacts the grades of a traditional learner, will the merit-based scholarship decrease?

Question for administrators: Can your institution offer discounts or residence life credit based on the “new normal” semester?

ON-CAMPUS RECRUITMENT EVENTS

Inviting students and their families to campus is an integral part of the college recruitment process. Virtual events have replaced many large-scale recruitment gatherings such as Weekend Information Sessions or Open Houses, but won’t have the same impact or attendance. Like the global travel ban, institutions require families to quarantine for two weeks if they were exposed to the virus to ensure the on-campus community's safety.

Question for administrators: Are there ways to significantly limit the on-campus visiting capacity without diminishing the experience?

One of the best things to do during these uncertain times is to frequently check-in and update new and returning students. There are many factors to consider when reopening campus in Fall 2020 (and beyond), but community cooperation and leadership will ultimately make the difference.