On March 13, schools all across the local district went into lockdown after the novel coronavirus outbreak made its presence in local institutions. The growing flare-up eventually became a dangerous pandemic that took over 864,000 lives all over the world.
After a long, virus-led summer, Miami-Dade County Public Schools had finally reopened virtually across all grade levels earlier this Monday — but they are not the only ones.
A majority of colleges and universities have disclosed plans discussing their model of institutional learning, which is primarily based on the campuses’ ability to physically distance students to the safest regards. From local colleges elite universities, here is a look at what different institutions are doing to open campus doors once more:
Miami-Dade College (MDC)
Miami-Dade College’s education spectrum is broad in the sense that eligible students, ranging from middle schoolers to high school associates, can exploit dual enrollment opportunities and gain better insight into the college exposure. Bilaterally, this credit applies to both high school and college graduation requisites.
Still, students at MLEC who were taking dual enrollment courses last year did not confirm any major changes to their learning after the college went into lockdown. Instead, they denoted a good number of their sessions to already be online-based.
“MDC is naturally more online-based if only purely because they put such a high emphasis on platforms like blackboard; so on that front, I will say that our global studies classes are much easier to transition to purely online,” said Gabriella Foster, an MLEC junior who participated in the Dual Enrollment program for her Global Studies requisites.
MDC, like the rest of M-DCPS, is still mediating through Phase 1 of the Pandemic Recovery Plan. Classes in the Fall semester began on September 1, shortly after high schools reopened the day before — and currently, their administration has reportedly been preparing to constitute on-campus instruction in a face-to-face and hybrid format by the potential switch date of September 28.
University of Florida (UF)
UF is one of the major public university systems here in Florida. Univstat counts the University of Florida to be a highly populated institution that typically bears over 45,000 total enrollments annually. So the situation veiled no surprise once the school had decided to go virtual several months ago.
Classes, likewise with M-DCPS, had instigated on August 31. The school had disclosed reopening plans to institute 35 percent of curriculums from undergraduate, graduate, and professional sectors online, while another 35 percent will unfold on campus.
Herman Gonzalez, a UF student in the class of 2023, considers the obstacles of attending classes behind a screen as opposed to learning in-person. Herman also elaborates on certain protective measures that he plans to build upon once after returning to campus.
“For me, the hardest part is staying motivated with a good routine. I think the content of my courses will be much the same, but the ritual of physically going to class is gone—so that’s rough. Hopefully, professors can keep the virtual classes engaging and be understanding of the bizarre circumstances everyone is in right now,” said Herman.
“I’ll be returning to campus this semester. I think wearing and laundering masks often is going to be one of the most important habits to build. As far as group hangouts, common sense and social distancing is obviously what comes to mind. I don’t plan on going to any parties this year,” he continued.
Stanford
Stanford is the second major college in the United States to have canceled classes because of the coronavirus outbreak that began escalating several months earlier. After a faculty member had tested positive for the virus, the administration unanimously closed all in-person classes, which then transitioned to online learning instead.
Stephanie Brito, an MLEC alumni and senior at Stanford University, had expressed her concern about this abrupt commute: “As a graduating senior, my initial thoughts were that I was being forced to end this chapter of my life early.”
During the summer, news broke of the university’s plan to reopen campus this fall — but with a catch. To lower the density population in the facility, undergraduates will not be coming on school grounds this fall following the state guidance for higher education institutions that restricts the in-person experience. Undergraduate students who have already been approved for housing on campus will still be offered housing.
“I’m worried that a university, a place with so many people constantly in close contact, is the worst place to be during an outbreak,” Brito continued.
While Stanford is offering leaves of absences for returning students, the administration also hopes to allow freshmen, sophomores, and new transfer students back into in-person learning for the winter quarter. The tuition costs stiffened as well. The 2020-2021 school year listed at $55,473, showing an increase of nearly 5 percent from the previous year — in addition to room and boarding accommodations, the total hit $78,218.
Harvard
Harvard held a similar notion. Following concerns about the growing outbreak, the university had wanted a total lockdown to prevent possible exposure to the virus and ensure the safety of students and facility staff. Soon after, the administration sent out a letter announcing a complete transition to online classes by March 23rd. They had also warned against returning back on campus after Spring recess.
“Students are asked not to return to campus after Spring Recess and to meet academic requirements remotely until further notice. Students who need to remain on campus will also receive instruction remotely and must prepare for severely limited on-campus activities and interactions. All graduate students will transition to remote work wherever possible,” Harvard wrote in a statement.
Dean Claudine Gay, as mentioned on the university website, informed that the administration is considering three scenarios: the first is a low-density campus to reduce contact exposure while laboratories reopen for use, a density in which 30 to 40 percent of undergraduates return, and a high-density established that allows all undergraduates to return.
As of now, Harvard is planning to reopen this fall with hybrid flexibility. While some classes will transpire online, other classes are set to commence on campus. Even with in-person risks of exposure, most of the curriculums will be virtual throughout the year to accomplish a population with shallow-density.
Yale
Similar to what Harvard had done during March, Yale had also asked students to stay home after spring break after breaking the news that all classes will transition online — but what truly unsettled the community was housing. Transfer students, financially insecure students, or even students with housing insecurities or other hardships would have nowhere to go.
Valeria Bula, an MLEC alumni and current Yale student, expands on this issue of inaccessibility: “For a lot of people these institutions, despite their flaws, are homes. It’s where our friends are, resources we may not have at home like mental health services or even just health care, steady access to food and internet.”
To ameliorate tensions, the university had planned a reopening this fall semester without sophomores living on school grounds. There will also be another reopening in the Spring, barring freshmen from living in-campus. Juniors and seniors, however, yield the option to live in the New Haven, Conn. housing for both semesters.
“Yale is handling it considerably well compared to other institutions in that they are allowing students with special circumstances to stay,” Bula continued.
Yale President Peter Salovey and Provost Scott Strobel wrote a letter to the community disclosing this plan. According to the letter, limiting freshmen and sophomore presence at Harvard effectively lowers the population density of students living in the campus colleges 60 percent more than normal.
Georgetown University
Like the other universities, Georgetown University has also been keen to restrict in-person student activities following the outbreak, switching a good number of classes to virtual platforms as well. Initially, they had planned to bring around 2,000 undergraduates into school grounds, but now, the prime focus is to limit the number of students there to manage social distancing and safety.
Students that were already pre-approved for the regulatory Housing Stability Application process, invited on campus for essential academic purposes, or enrolled with an F-1 visa, can continue living within resident halls. On July 29, they announced that freshmen students will not be invited on campus, but the university will also be offering them housing and hosting some classes in a hybrid format.
Akil Cole is a freshman at Georgetown University. He has been taking classes in the fall semester since Wednesday, August 26. Akil currently has a full-schedule of virtual courses to take — and despite learning remotely, he believes that the college experience is more than just sitting in front of a computer.
“I think the big part of the college experience and building connections is interacting with lots of people. Obviously, I’m going to heed public guidelines as they come out; but, I am also going to side on the air of caution and not on the side of fear. Ultimately, Fear is not going to help anyone. There needs to be a healthy balance between being cautious and staying too back,” he said.
