03/16/2021
he Wall Street Journal (3/15, Korn, Subscription Publication) reports that colleges and universities around the US are starting to announce their plans for next fall, anticipating more students on campus and in-person classes. However, they warn, plans could change. Inside Higher Ed (3/12, Whitford) reported colleges’ fall announcements “started a few weeks ago as vaccination rates began to pick up, but student inboxes and news sites have been flooded with fall reopening news this month, due in part to the ongoing admissions season.” Experts “call March and April prime yield season, during which colleges and universities work tirelessly to build a strong incoming class.” After a year of exhausting transitions, “students are looking for certainty and normalcy, and promising those things could give institutions a leg up as admitted students decide where to enroll.”
Experts Consider Equity Amid College Reopenings. Inside Higher Ed (3/15, Burke) reports that “now that the fall is complete and the spring in full swing, eyes have turned to the upcoming semester.” A number of colleges and universities, “spurred by promising vaccine news and the beginning of admissions season, have announced that they plan to return to ‘normal’ this upcoming fall.” In-person classes and residential experiences “will be the norm, administrations have said.” Some higher education experts “are beginning to look ahead to that return, including the possible equity concerns that may arise and how institutions can address them.” Said Education Trust vice president of higher education policy Wil Del Pilar, “We shouldn’t be talking about opening up normal, we should be talking about opening up better. We know that a lot of four-year and two-year institutions weren’t providing the best services to low-income students and students of color.”
University Of Michigan Returns To In-Person Classes This Fall. The Detroit Free Press (3/12, Jesse) reported that the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor “plans to welcome students back to campus and to in-person classes for the 2021-22 school year, President Mark Schlissel announced Friday in a virtual town hall.” The school “anticipates residence halls running at 80% of capacity and athletic events having fans in the stands.” Both branch campuses, U-M Flint and U-M Dearborn, “had previously announced their intent to have in-person classes this fall.”
Boston University Plans To Switch Back To On-Campus Learning This Fall. The Hill (3/12) reported that Boston University “is planning to switch to on-campus learning in the fall, the school’s president announced Friday.” BU President Robert Brown “cited an increased number of vaccinations as the reason for the decision an email to students and parents shared on Twitter by The Daily Free Press, the school’s independent student newspaper.”