Evolving Plans For Higher Ed: Mailing Test Kits, Switching To Online, Enlarging Classrooms
News on how various colleges and universities are handling students returning, including Baylor, Georgetown, Seton Hall, Miami University and colleges in Michigan.
The Hill:
Baylor To Mail All Students Mandatory Coronavirus Tests
Baylor University is mailing students COVID-19 test kits and is requiring that all students have a negative test before returning to campus. The Texas-based school will begin mailing the mandatory test kids to students starting next week, according to a Tuesday announcement. Baylor said students should take the test as soon as they receive it. The kit will include a package for overnight shipping for students to send the test to a lab, and the school said it will take 48 hours to process the test from the date the lab receives it. (Klar, 7/29)
The Washington Post:
Georgetown University Reverses Plans, Will Start Fall Semester Online
Georgetown University will begin the school year online, the campus’s president announced Wednesday, rescinding previous plans to conduct courses online and in-person this fall. The school joins George Washington University this week in amending its plans for the fall as novel coronavirus cases continue to rise across the country. (Lumpkin, 7/29)
USA Today:
'The Virus Beat Us': Colleges Are Increasingly Going Online For Fall 2020 Semester As COVID-19 Cases Rise
Call it coronavirus déjà vu. After planning ways to reopen campuses this fall, colleges are increasingly changing their minds, dramatically increasing online offerings or canceling in-person classes outright. This sudden shift will be familiar to students whose spring plans were interrupted by the rapid spread of the coronavirus. Now, COVID-19 cases in much of the country are much higher than in the spring, and rising in many places. (Quintana, 7/29)
Mlive.com:
Whitmer Order Clears The Way For Colleges, Universities To Convert Large Spaces To Classrooms
Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Wednesday signed an executive order clearing the way for colleges and universities to convert large spaces into classrooms without needing to go through the typical inspection and approval process from the state Bureau of Fire Services. “Our college students and educators have made tremendous sacrifices over the past four months to protect each other from the spread of COVID-19. When it comes to instruction in the fall, Michigan’s colleges and universities are working tirelessly to provide a safe environment for students and staff,” Whitmer said in a statement. (Lawler, 7/29)
Inside Higher Ed:
College Groups Urge Extending Relief For Borrowers
Several associations representing the nation’s colleges and universities on Wednesday urged congressional leaders to continue excusing student loan borrowers from having to make payments until at least after next Tax Day in April. The letter from the American Council on Education and 46 other higher education groups puts them in opposition to the Senate Republican proposal for the next coronavirus relief package. The previous package passed by Congress, the CARES Act, had excused borrowers from making payments during the pandemic-caused recession through Oct. 1. (Murakami, 7/30)
Also —
The New York Times:
MacKenzie Scott Gives $1.7 Billion To Historically Black Colleges And Other Groups
MacKenzie Scott, one of the world’s richest women, pledged one year ago to give away her money “until the safe is empty.” On Tuesday, Ms. Scott, an author and philanthropist who was once married to Jeff Bezos, the chief executive of Amazon, said she had so far given $1.7 billion to a long list of institutions, including historically Black colleges and universities as well as organizations that support women’s rights, L.G.B.T.Q. equality, and efforts to fight climate change and racial inequities. (Cramer, 7/29)
