What a scary headline. Who would have thought that they would be reading headlines like this back in January? This article from Politico is looking at the difficult decisions being faced by universities in many locations around the globe.
Colleges and universities face intense pressure to throw open classroom doors even as health officials warn of potential spikes in coronavirus cases come the fall.
College presidents and their boards have a seemingly impossible task: Protect school finances without putting student and faculty lives in danger. Colleges could be sued if schools reopen dorms and dining halls as a second wave of infections strikes. But financial woes in the billions loom if campuses stay shut.
“Even if university campuses do open up, it's just absolutely under no circumstances going to be what it was like last fall —and for the last hundred falls,” said Dan Hurley, CEO of the Michigan Association of State Universities. “There will be significant social distancing and physical distancing in place.”
That is also the potential for a competitive imbalance among colleges as they look at a possible return to normal. Large universities can marshal medical schools and scientific experts to carry out virus testing and contact tracing that public health officials say is essential for any economic revival. Smaller schools might not have those resources.
Institutions could face potential lawsuits if they bring their students back to campus too soon and there is an outbreak, said James Keller, co-chairman of Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr's higher education practice and K-12 schools practice.
Keller, who represents colleges and universities, said they’re in a “tough spot." While he would argue that the governors and mayors have some responsibility because of their guidance, Keller said: “Ultimately, are parents going to try to hold the school accountable if you bring people back and there's an outbreak in a dorm and 20 kids get sick? Yes.”
So what is the answer? It is very difficult to see what the shorter-term future of education will look like.
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