Campus Adults Panic, Plan

Connecticut universities are preparing for possible shutdowns with the spread of the new coronavirus, while grappling with the fact that modern universities are homes for many students.

That planning, and the worries that accompany it, emerged at a regional conference in New Haven where the virus overtook other agenda items — and revealed an older generation far more wrought up than their younger charges about the situation.

Representatives of colleges and universities from across the Northeast convened in the Omni Hotel on Monday to discuss long-term planning at the conference, which was organized by the Society for College and University Planning.

Twenty minutes before the first panel started, organizers switched the agenda to focus on how to prevent COVID-19 from spreading across campuses.

“It just felt like it would be a little odd not to recognize that situation that we are in,” said Yale University planning director Dev Hawley, who moderated the Monday morning panel.

New Haven Mayor Justin Elicker set the tone of the morning by turning his welcome speech to attendees into a public service announcement on the virus.

“I’ve been going around bumping elbows. We have to get used to living a little differently for now,” he said.

“The reason is simple. We’re looking at a 1 to 3 percent fatality rate. Do you have 100 friends? Do some of those friends have a weakened immune system or are some of them elderly?”

Elicker then focused on the original intent of his speech, to encourage universities to be part of inclusive growth in cities and discuss that at the conference. (Read more about his discussion with Yale about this topic here and here.)

Even the participants of the panel changed due to concerns about the disease. University of Connecticut Chief Financial Officer Scott Jordan called in virtually. With new Yale directives to avoid events with 100+ people, Yale Provost Scott Strobel decided not to join the panel.

On stage were Hawley, UConn Associate Vice President Laura Cruickshank and representatives from the University of New Haven, Stony Brook University, Wellesley College, Rhode Island School of Design, Phillips Exeter Academy and Connecticut College.

Spring break has begun for Yale students; vacations are just around the corner for other colleges. The school officials on stage talked about asking students to register their travel plans and asking them to quarantine themselves if they return from certain locations.

Jordan said that he is worried that University of Connecticut students may not take these precautions seriously after reading about the low risks for younger people.

“I’m a little concerned. I’ve spent some time with undergrads. They don’t seem to be alarmed at all,” he said.

Connecticut College Associate Vice President Trina Learned agreed, ​“Students are going everywhere. They are feeling invincible. I’m feeling less so.”

Online Switch

Some universities, including Columbia and Princeton, are starting to switch to online courses.

Dan May of the University of New Haven said UNH was considering how to take similar measures, especially with classes that do not translate easily into a virtual format like dance or music or experience-based learning like nursing or teaching.

In addition, May said that if UNH asks students to start learning from home, students may not have the software necessary on their computers or phones.

Learned brought up the impact that online learning might have on financial aid, based on current federal regulations. She said that a student has to spend 60 percent of the semester on campus to keep their federal loans.

“That date for us is March 29. The question is can we keep the school open until then?” she said.

Many of the colleges represented on the panel have large on-campus student bodies. Nearly all students at Wellesley live at the college, according to planning director Michelle Maheu.

“When classes are no longer held, we aren’t closed. What happens if dining workers have to quarantine themselves? We really have to wait and see and have to react to things as they happen,” she said.

Yale is in a similar situation. Hawley said the university is considering the mechanics of distributing meals during a shutdown so students do not congregate in dining halls.

Hawley said that much of Yale’s planning has already happened. He said the university spent months on what to do if a pandemic flu hit. Yale has begun to train or retrain its custodial staff in more stringent disinfectant procedures, and it has a plan for which operations to focus on (health care and dining) if staff members begin to call out sick or stay home in large numbers.

“It is quite reassuring if you have an emergency operations plan,” Hawley said. ​“It is a lot clearer than trying to plan in the heat of the moment.”

One conversation not yet decided at Yale, according to Hawley, was how sick leave would be handled. UConn has decided to grant paid sick leave to everyone confirmed with the coronavirus, whether they have qualified yet or not, according to Cruickshank.

At Connecticut College, Learned reported, ​“the panic — the very valid ​‘concern’ — is how we put health and counseling in different facilities.”

Anti-Asian Racism

Many of the universities represented on stage agreed that they could take a serious financial hit because of the impacts of the virus elsewhere, particularly in China and South Korea.

“It’s not something we necessarily seek out, but UConn is known as a very Chinese-friendly school,” Cruickshank said.

She said that UConn relies on tuition from international students in the face of decreasing state funding. They are considering how to adjust for the fact that potential applicants may have experienced school closures or been unable to receive their test scores.

Cruickshank said that the anti-Asian racism flaring up across the country has also taken place at UConn and that the universities have to remember to counter that messaging during the crisis.

“The best and the worst come out in people during emergencies,” she said.

After a few audience questions about other planning considerations, like rural students without access to broadband, Hawley wrapped up the panel.

“I found it to be a particularly valuable spontaneous agenda that we covered in the last hour. I’ve been taking notes and I plan to share the wisdom and experience you all have had with the Yale organization,” he said.

The hundreds of audience members then broke into smaller groups, networking with one another by bumping elbows rather than shaking hands.