Most undergraduates are set to start a new semester in the next few days or weeks, and colleges are again rapidly changing day-to-day operations as the omicron variant blows past daily case records.
Residential universities can be especially vulnerable to outbreaks, especially at the start of the semester. Many students travel across the country or internationally to attend classes. Undergraduate students tend to live in close quarters with roommates – on or off campus – which can increase their likelihood of being infected with the coronavirus.
Some universities have already decided to offer the first weeks of the spring semester virtually. And those offering an in-person start say digital instruction is still a possibility. What’s more, some that had rolled back COVID-19 precautions have reinstated those measures, such as the University of Alabama, which reintroduced its masking requirements. Some colleges plan to start their semester online. The list is growing, and it includes private and high-profile institutions such as Harvard University in Massachusetts, Stanford University in California, and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., as well as several of the University of California’s campuses, Michigan State University, Jackson State University in Mississippi and the University of Hawaii’s campuses.
Some universities, such as Howard in Washington, D.C., and Tennessee State, are delaying the start of their semester but plan to hold in-person classes when they reconvene. And some, including Louisiana State University, are allowing instructors to decide whether they want to start the semester offering their courses remotely, in-person or in some combination.
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Others, such as Brown University in Rhode Island, the University of California, Berkeley, and Pennsylvania State University plan to stick to their in-person opening plans. The University of Florida also is sticking to its plans for an in-person semester, though the faculty union there had asked the administration to offer the first weeks of instruction digitally.Some universities, however, may change their plans as the semester draws closer, said Davidson College professor Chris Marsicano, who leads the College Crisis Initiative to study how colleges respond to the pandemic. About 10% of the 400 major universities the group has reviewed plan to start online for the spring semester.
"Students should expect that things are in flux and will change as the pandemic changes," he said. "This is not like last fall, where going online for a little bit could mean going online forever. All indications are that any delay or remote start will be followed up shortly thereafter by a return to normal operations."Universities say they plan to rely on mask requirements, vaccination campaigns and, in some cases, coronavirus screening to bring students back to campuses.
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Will students have to be vaccinated? Will colleges require boosters?
Most universities have encouraged their students to get vaccinated. But many, especially private colleges or those in blue states, had required proof of inoculation for students if they wanted to attend classes in person.
Some universities have already decided to offer the first weeks of the spring semester virtually. And those offering an in-person start say digital instruction is still a possibility. What’s more, some that had rolled back COVID-19 precautions have reinstated those measures, such as the University of Alabama, which reintroduced its masking requirements. Some colleges plan to start their semester online. The list is growing, and it includes private and high-profile institutions such as Harvard University in Massachusetts, Stanford University in California, and Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., as well as several of the University of California’s campuses, Michigan State University, Jackson State University in Mississippi and the University of Hawaii’s campuses.
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