Coming from a world-renowned former surgeon who dedicated much of his life to medicine and higher education, this guidance offers a profound glimpse at how one institution without a vaccine requirement is addressing the pandemic for the 2022-23 academic year. Hamstrung by Gov. Doug Ducey’s executive order that bans public universities from vaccine and mask requirements, institutions such as Arizona have relied on encouragement in lieu of mandates to keep case counts low.

In the letter, Robbins balances the continued return to in-person classes with the understanding that coronavirus spinoff variants such as BA.5 will be as much a part of campus environments as they have been for the past two years. “While many of us have a strong desire to be past both the threats posed by COVID-19 and the impact it has had on our lives, the pandemic is not over,” Robbins wrote. Indeed, the state of Arizona currently has the fifth-highest positivity rate in the nation (29%), although cases in Pima County have remained relatively level over the past two weeks. But what happens when nearly 50,000 students return to U of A? While stating his Public Health Advisory team’s continued mission to keep campus safe, he also sent a warning to the community.

“As we monitor the virus, as well as the capacity of our public health and medical systems, the continued evolution of the virus remains a point of concern,” Robbins wrote. “Certain new variants have shown increased transmissibility and the ability to evade the immune response. The same mitigation strategies we have relied upon throughout the pandemic appear to remain effective at limiting transmission of the new variants – if we use them. As always, if you are in a high-risk category, I encourage you to take appropriate additional precautions.”

One of those, Robbins said, is wearing face coverings. Another is testing routinely. He also noted the importance of getting vaccinated, a polarizing topic within the state, where 37% of citizens have not received preventive COVID doses. This fall, Arizona is planning to provide vaccine and booster shots to students, staff and faculty, along with masks and testing. But it is not going to offer isolation spaces for those who do test positive. Instead, those residential students who do will be isolating in their own dorms and apartments. Roommates of those who test positive will not be given separate housing to quarantine. Students who test positive and who have roommates are being told to mask in their own areas. They also will not be permitted in classrooms, dining halls or work in any capacity on campus.

The university, which had received more than 38,000 vaccination uploads to its system from students through the middle of January, will be updating its protocols one more time before the fall semester begins. From the beginning of the year through the end of its spring semester, Arizona saw a 4.8% positivity rate on campus, largely driven by higher case counts in January, where it registered more than 200 cases per day across the span of a week.

Many institutions that have sent out communications for the fall are taking a similar approach to Arizona’s, not requiring masks but strongly encouraging them. The Dayton Daily News reports that many institutions in its region, including Ohio State, are relaxing policies on face coverings for classroom spaces. However, if outbreaks are severe, they will respond and may require them again. Institutions that have had vaccine requirements are planning to continue them this fall, spurred by the emergence of the BA.5 variant. In the past 14 days, cases across the U.S. not only have increased by about 20% – all but three states are seeing rises – but deaths (+38%) and hospitalizations (+15%) have spiked, too.

The post How one top university with no COVID-19 mandates is approaching the fall appeared first on University Business.

With cases rising on both campuses and in the Baltimore-Washington, DC, area – they are up 135% in the past two weeks – leaders at both universities decided to take a safe approach as the BA.2 variant spreads. Johns Hopkins also added back a twice-per-week testing mandate. More than 100 students at JHU had positive COVID-19 results in their return from Spring Break, and Georgetown saw 117 positives from its 3,000 tests conducted March 27-April 2.

“These circumstances present a challenge, but we have learned to adjust our mitigation measures to respond to changing conditions throughout the pandemic,” Dr. Ranit Mishori, Professor and Chief Public Health Officer at Georgetown, said in a statement. “Another adjustment is needed now to curb transmission on campus.”

The combined return of students from Spring Breaks and the rise of the stealth variant, which is now the dominant strain in the U.S. and has caused an increase in COVID-19 cases in 27 states and the District of Columbia, is causing some concern for colleges, which are stretched thin on isolation spaces and are weary from two years of shifting strategies. The silver lining is that most students have not experienced serious short-term outcomes from the virus, and the majority of faculty as these institutions have received at least their first two scheduled vaccine doses.

“Thankfully, with the vast majority of our community up to date on vaccination, we are not seeing cases involving severe illness,” Mishori said. Kevin Shollenberger, Vice Provost for Student Health and Well-Being at Johns Hopkins agreed, saying, “Many students who tested positive are asymptomatic, and the rest are experiencing only mild symptoms.”

Still, both institutions know any further outbreak could put those with comorbidities at risk, in residence halls and gathering spaces and in their urban communities. So, Johns Hopkins is planning to keep testing going through April 22 and will maintain mask protocols for the foreseeable future in common areas, in addition to its current policy requiring them in classes. It is also considering its options for a potentially complicated return of quarantine and isolation.

“In order to effectively manage our inventory of off-campus isolation housing, we may also adopt isolation-in-place protocols,” Shollenberger said. “We would prioritize off-campus isolation housing for residential students most in need, such as those with medical conditions that place them at higher risk from COVID; those who are experiencing more serious presentations of COVID; or those whose living arrangements may make it difficult to isolate, such as students living in doubles as opposed to suites with individual bedrooms.”

Georgetown’s isolation capacity at a nearby hotel is already full and the university is seeking additional space. “Residential students who test positive may need to share a hotel room or isolate in their campus residence, which means that COVID-positive and negative students may need to be housed together in the same room or apartment,” Mishori said.

More from UB: Can colleges make it through April without big COVID spikes?

Another school where isolation space is tight and that is putting masks back on temporarily is Barnard College at Columbia University in New York. It has seen close to a 4% positivity rate in recent reporting. Students must put face coverings on in dining spaces, at events, in its library and in classrooms.

“This disease continues to behave unpredictably,” Dr. Marina Catallozzi, Vice President of Health & Wellness and Chief Health Officer, said in a statement to the Barnard community. “While rates of hospitalization for COVID-19 are the lowest they have been since the pandemic started, we are seeing an increase in symptomatic cases of COVID-19, in individuals testing positive for COVID-19 via self-administered home antigen testing and through our testing program.”

Catallozzi pressed the importance of acquiring antigen tests and treatment options quickly and getting vaccinated, and that includes a first booster shot. “Please get it ASAP,” she said.

While there are some institutions like San Francisco State University that have vowed to maintain masking requirements through the end of the semester, there are hundreds of others that have removed them over the past two months as COVID cases waned. Leaders at those institutions, however, have indicated to students that if conditions change, they may see a return of masks and testing.

Many universities have also ended their vaccination requirements while still encouraging populations to get them. The University of Rochester, citing a decision made by the state of New York to halt the mandate for health care workers, has opted to remove the booster requirement for its entire community though it still requires students get their primary doses of COVID vaccines..

“Throughout the pandemic, we’ve modified or changed guidance as we learn more about the science of COVID, where there are new discoveries and insights almost daily,” the university said in a statement. “Every decision we’ve made or the policy we’ve established has been made with the health and safety of everyone in our community as the single most important consideration.”

The post With COVID-19 cases up again, masking returns at Johns Hopkins, Georgetown appeared first on University Business.

That’s not at all unusual. Through the years, the sporting world and reporters have been wondering the same about Valparaiso, Loyola Marymount and this year’s darling, St. Peter’s University. But each has its own unique story beyond the Big Dance, and Bryant officials were happy to steal a sliver of the spotlight and indulge those who wanted to know more. “People in Dayton were very curious about our university. The national media was very curious,” Bryant President Ross Gittell says. “When they heard our story, they were very impressed.”

Bryant’s team, unfortunately, didn’t make it past Round 64, falling to Wright State 92-83. But its leaders certainly made the most of the build-up to the game, highlighting all the amazing things happening at this 430-acre rural institution in northern Rhode Island.

Before the tournament, one of Bryant’s biggest claims to fame was that it was the summer home of the New England Patriots, long before the Patriots became the Patriots and just as Tom Brady began his long run of Super Bowl wins. But since its shift from College to University, it really has raised its game, both in terms of growing its footprint—it has a stunning new arena and convocation center on the way —and its academic prowess. Its goal is to become a highly acclaimed national institution – like three other perennial tournament teams, Villanova, Notre Dame and Boston College—and it is racing there quickly. Bryant, for those that don’t know, is ranked in the top 1% of institutions in return on investment for students, according to the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce.

“There are very few that at our top 1% of return on investment and also in the NCAA tournament – Villanova. Notre Dame, Yale and the University of Southern California,” Gittell says. “We’re never going to be Yale. Our graduates get hired because they’re real world ready. We embed a lot of experiential learning, a lot of internships, a lot of corporate projects, heavy case studies. So when our students graduate, they’ve done this before.”

What Bryant offers is the training for students that so many institutions are trying to harness, a pipeline to employers that brings them prepared graduates. One of its biggest partners is Fidelity, partly because the company is right across the street but primarily because Bryant’s students are getting a comprehensive business and liberal arts background.

“Fidelity wants graduates who understand the next generation of investors and deliver financial services, not only where there’s high market returns but also a platform for different types of investors to make investment decisions,” Gittell says. “So we constantly upgrade the curriculum. We have an archway investment class, where students manage $3 million of our endowment and they get graded based on their performance over a semester compared to market benchmarks. We have a fixed-income fund that students are managing in a class and then they go work on the fixed income side of investments for Fidelity.”

The lean toward 21^st-century skills—Bryant is focusing heavily on data analytics, artificial intelligence and hot trend like cryptocurrency—is part of its Vision 2030 plan, which aims to deliver lifelong education and career advancement for students. Gittell, who took over the position at the height of the pandemic, was a sharp choice because of his background as an economist and as the former Chancellor of the Community College System of New Hampshire.

“It’s very important to understand the changing economy, to act strategically, and you also have to have a very good background in linking the strategy to our financial resources and our financial plan,” he says. “I use my MBA as much as I use my PhD. Having that background in finance and accounting, and strategic management perspective is really important. I’m a believer in small business. Education is really essential in many leadership roles. And we’re training our graduates to be leaders of their organizations.”

It is no secret, especially in New England where private institutions have struggled to set themselves apart in the competitive higher education landscape, that it takes creativity to remain successful. Bryant underwent a self-study to pull together its new strategic plan that was accelerated by the pandemic, with a new “education lens.” Aside from its high ranking among regional universities in the Northeast, its international business program is now in the Top 20. If it isn’t being mentioned in the same breadth as other “B” schools with business punch in New England—Babson, Bentley and Brandeis— it should be.

“We knew we had to do things such as integrating our business education with the STEM disciplines,” Gittell says. “But what really makes Bryant unique is that we’ve integrated business with liberal arts. A student has to major in one and minor in the other. It means our finance graduates often minor in economics or applied math, and our communications graduates minor in marketing, or management. That’s helped not only our business majors be in the top 1% [on ROI], but our liberal arts majors are in the top 1% because they have that business minor.”

Part of Bryant’s acceleration and inclusion on those lofty lists is its heavy focus on residential life and student support. A centerpiece of the Vision plan is a series of construction initiatives that will begin in 2023, including improved academic and dining facilities and the beautiful new Convocation Center that will house its athletic teams – including its powerhouse basketball and volleyball programs – as well as other functions, such as black box theatre events and large gatherings.

“The academic experience will always be primary, but when you’re looking at character development, the ability to work in teams to lead, students must have an experience that they enjoy and remember, so that our alumni are loyal,” Gittell says. “It takes more than just the classroom experience. Over 20% of our students are student-athletes, and their GPA is higher than the student body as a whole. The convocation center really tries to have the campus facilities reflect our values, our integration of the residential life experience with the academic experience and the full student life experience.”

But Gittell knows, even with all the upgrades and the solid academic outcomes, there’s one thing that Bryant must do to get to the next level. “We have a good balance sheet. We’re upgrading our academic facilities. We have been primarily a strong regional university,” Gittell says. “We feel like we’re very well positioned to enhance our national reputation. But we’re going to have to do some marketing, and some stronger branding.”

Making the NCAA Tournament this year certainly didn’t hurt.

The post This NCAA darling has a better story to tell: It’s in the top 1% for ROI appeared first on University Business.

His vision has been evident in High Point’s huge boost in faculty, its record enrollment and the increasing number of stunning, over-the-top facilities popping up on campus, bolstered by millions in donations over the past decade.

So how could he and this small, private institution ever top that?

On Wednesday at a standing-room-only gathering, Qubein announced that the university was putting together a $400 million academic expansion that will be fueled by a donations from three families totaling $100 million over the past month. Qubein wasn’t speechless, but he was overcome as he delivered the news to his community.

“At HPU, we’re on a rocket ship to the moon,” he said. “Our growth is truly a miracle with God’s hand on it. Students and families across the country appreciate that HPU delivers an education founded on values and framed with life skills. Our future has never been brighter, and our faculty and staff continue marching forward with faithful courage.”

The donors, who were not identified by the university, all live outside of the state and own and operate businesses in the health care, insurance and publishing fields. Their backing will mean, like many of the other projects Qubein has orchestrated, that HPU won’t have to worry about tapping into its coffers to fund the new expansion.

“Thanks to Dr. Qubein’s leadership, support from families such as these, operational surpluses and university revenues, no new debt will be acquired to complete the projects,” said Robert Brown, chairman of HPU’s Board of Trustees.

Those projects include one that has been much discussed – a new $80 million centerpiece library – as well as new Schools of Law, Optometry, Nursing and Dental disciplines in its Innovation Corridor. All of them will be housed in new facilities. HPU also has plans to build a School of Entrepreneurship. In all, that would make 14 total schools, 11 more than it had just 17 years ago.

But that’s not all. High Point is spending $115 million on student life facilities that will be able to accommodate 500 more students as the university continues to grow. It is putting in new retail stores and apartments in an $80 million five-story facility called Panthers Commons, as well as putting $10 million toward 32 new houses and cottages for students that got underway in December and a $25 million parking garage that will be completed by the end of the year. Construction of Panthers Commons is starting in a couple of weeks and will be done next summer.

The four new academic schools include the already announced School of Dental Medicine and Oral Health (backed by a $150 million investment) that will open in the fall of 2023 with a new class of 180 students. Dr. Scott De Rossi, former professor and dean at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Adams School of Dentistry, will be its first dean.

“HPU’s School of Dental Medicine and Oral Health will provide incredible opportunities and partnerships for local dentists,” De Rossi said. “They’ll be invited to participate in the educational process by speaking to or engaging with students, and they can utilize the talent of those students by providing experiential learning opportunities in their offices.”

High Point officials said they have also found a dean to lead its new School of Law, though they are waiting to release the name until May. The university has not set a timetable for its opening or for the School of Optometry, which is looking for its academic leader. However, its School of Nursing is set to begin in the fall.

The post High Point University announces massive $400 million academic expansion appeared first on University Business.

At the University of Mississippi that means the loosening of mask requirements, which took effect on Monday. Face coverings still will be necessary in classrooms, labs and in its healthcare facilities but not in residence halls, libraries, student unions, offices or recreation buildings.

“We are certainly in a different place this spring than we were in spring 2020 or even spring 2021,” Mississippi Chancellor Glenn Boyce said in a statement. “We have robust testing and we have safe, effective, widely available vaccines that reduce the severity of illness and the risk of hospitalization for those infected. We have developed protocols that are proven to be effective when we experience a surge in cases. We have also seen our case counts reduce significantly from the beginning of the semester to today.”

However, in his message to staff, faculty, students and alumni, Boyce did point out two key details that his campus and others pushing to further reopen should consider:

• The continued empathy toward others who might be at higher risk for developing severe outcomes, so masking and allowing some safety measures should continue. Mississippi said faculty and staff can use plexiglass to protect them in teaching or workspaces and can require guests to wear masks.
• Ensuring that populations are being safe when heading into the community. Certain towns and cities in Mississippi are still seeing 50% or more increases in positive cases and some have as few as 34% of residents fully vaccinated.

More from UB: Could colleges embrace far fewer COVID-19 protocols by the fall?

Other institutions across the country are seeing case counts decline and opting to lift some of the requirements as they see case counts drop, knowing too that more severe outcomes from omicron are not nearly as widespread as delta. Public universities in Oregon may see all of the mask restrictions end by March 31. In other places, it is happening much more quickly.

The University of Nevada, effectively getting the green light from the state higher education commission, has lifted its mask mandate for all individuals inside buildings, including those who are unvaccinated. Like Boyce, President Brian Sandoval is strongly urging continued hygiene measures and also steering clear of “criticism, judgment or retaliation” for those who wear masks. But as of now and until there are new large upticks in cases, the university cannot impose mask-wearing.

“Individual NSHE institutions do not currently retain the authority to unilaterally impose more stringent face-covering requirements beyond Nevada law,” he wrote, citing Gov. Steve Sisolak’s recent lifting of mask mandates. “Stricter face-covering requirements, according to NSHE’s legal determination, involve systemwide policy decisions that fall outside of an individual institution’s discretion.”

Montana State University also removed its mask requirements this week and the state’s Commissioner of Higher Education, Clayton Christian, said institutions should end other restrictions as soon as possible, including those affecting travel and events. “After nearly two years of grappling with COVID-19, there is no doubt that we are seeing positive trends on our campuses, across Montana, and throughout the country,” he said. “Just as we have intensified our COVID-19 restrictions and protocols during times of increasing threat, we should respond to the improving conditions we see today by easing COVID-19 restrictions and protocols on our campuses.”

Although there are outliers, most college campuses are mirroring the declines in positive cases experienced by communities across the country, where all 50 states are reporting significant drops.

• At the University of Wisconsin-Madison, positive case counts have dropped by one-half in the past month.
• At the University of Washington, there were 19 total cases earlier this week compared with more than 200 in January
• Penn State University had 128 cases during the week of Jan. 31-Feb. 6, down from 631 from Jan. 17 to Jan. 23.
• At the University of Texas at Austin, cases fell from 122 on Jan. 10 to 35 on Feb 10. Still, its student government and senate have raised concerns about opening up campus further, launching a petition to try to get the university to increase its mitigation efforts.

But there are campuses still struggling to deal with omicron. At Brown University in Rhode Island, 361 students and 10 faculty members tested positive over the past week, a significant jump over the previous two weeks. So Brown is keeping masks on, although it is allowing for its departments to conduct recruiting face-to-face and for job candidates to be interviewed. “As members of the community are aware, many states, including Rhode Island, have made recent announcements regarding loosening or eliminating indoor mask-wearing requirements,” Russell Carey, Executive Vice President for Planning and Policy, wrote to the Brown community. “We are not yet at that point.”

Brown can keep operations going safely because it has that mask requirement and because 96% of all students have complied with the two-dose vaccine schedule and the university’s booster requirement, which further protects them from the most severe outcomes, according to national public health experts.

The post Why 3 big universities are removing masks and why one is keeping them on appeared first on University Business.

But as of Tuesday and because of a decline in positive cases and widespread vaccinations, Ohio State has reset capacity on all of its food places to the same levels they enjoyed last year.

“For the start of spring semester, we had to put some extra safeguards in place in response to the omicron variant,” Senior Vice President for Student Life Melissa Shivers and Athletics Director Gene Smith wrote to the community. “The good news is that those temporary measures have already proven to be helpful. Since the end of the first week of classes, we have worked to quickly increase seating capacity throughout all of our on-campus dining locations.”

The lifting of dining restrictions coincides with a plan to more fully reopen campus, including common spaces in its Student Life and recreation facilities and at athletic events. In fact, Ohio State said it will be offering concessions now at basketball games, with full menus of items ready by the end of the month.

However, that doesn’t mean a free-for-all in dining facilities on campus or in other buildings. OSU officials have told students they should wear masks “between bites and sips” and try to remain socially distanced if they can. Seating capacity might be reduced depending on how widespread COVID-19 becomes again. While locations might be open and more seating available, they are still pitching grab-n-go options and mobile orders. “As always, we will continue to monitor the path of the virus, its effects and expected impacts, and federal, state and local guidance,” they wrote. “We will always quickly pivot to make the necessary adjustments as we go through the semester.”

Other colleges and universities, recognizing both the value of students being able to interact more socially and with positivity rates slowly declining, are also opening up dining options. Expanded hours and increased capacity do mean that dining services must have the staffing to pull it off, one of the many challenges throughout the pandemic being felt by those like Ohio State, which is immediately hiring for positions. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln just increased the amount of hours in its Abel Center and other dining facilities thanks to new student workers.

“We’ve wanted to bring back services that were temporarily reduced as soon as we could,” David Annis, Nebraska’s Director of Dining Services told the university’s news service. “As student vacancies are getting filled, we’re excited to again increase options for students.”

Even at the most cautious institutions, dining is being increased. Yale University reopened all 14 of its dining halls with only grab-n-go options. Even though there is no seating available, students commented that just being able to see some of their friends and workers brought a smile. Their openings also mean students don’t have to fend long lines at limited facilities to get food. At rival Harvard, they’ve gone to socially distanced seating in dining halls for only those who are eating.

Another issue plaguing a return to full dining is food supply. The University of Kansas Dining is reporting that many of the items that would normally be on their menus simply are not available because its suppliers cannot come up with “20 to 25 items” each day. And because of a lack of workers throughout the chain and because of an increase in food prices across the board, it is likely that students, staff and faculty will see a boost in prices at KU as well, according to one dining official.

The post ‘Good news’: Universities boost dining options as COVID-19 numbers improve appeared first on University Business.

Moving forward, however, might mean the permanence of ambiguity and uncertainty, as one president told University Business recently and one CEO, Michael Huseby at Barnes and Noble Education, also referenced in a conversation before the winter break.

“A lot of things that turned out to be very positive were somewhat interrupted by the uncertainty again of COVID, with the delta and omicron variants,” he said. “So for higher education, the need to be flexible and adaptable is important. None of us wants to manage an environment of uncertainty like COVID, but we’re starting to understand better how to do it.”

BNED is one of the many companies lending additional expertise to institutions as they steer through uncertain times. In April, it released a study called “COLLEGE 2030: Transforming the Student Experience” that offered deep insight into the future of higher ed. Five key foundational elements that will drive higher education over the decade emerged: mental health; the digital divide and diversity, equity and inclusion; shifting demographics; student amenities; and return on investment for students.

Though a lot has changed over the past six months, Huseby says higher ed hasn’t taken a step back on any of them.

“We’re getting closer to [2030], there’s no question,” he said. “Like any other service, market demand drives change, and COVID has accelerated the change. If you look at the five key themes, and the rest of the observations that we got from our survey in 2030, it’s definitely headed in that direction. Having said that, who knows what else is going to happen in the world? But the key themes are being proved out by the experience we’ve had.”

One of the mainstays is mental health. While the isolation of COVID continues to affect students negatively, the infusion of sporting events and the return to classes reinvigorated campuses again.

“If you look at some of the studies about some of the issues surrounding online or virtual learning—alienation, and frustration, lack of access to broadband—the flip side of that are some of the benefits of being together,” Huseby says, noting from the survey that 75% of students were happy to be back on campus. “Part of the challenge and the new emphasis will be looking at the students and all their needs—not just academic needs, but their emotional and physical needs. It used to be, are the students college-ready? Now it’s, are the colleges ready to help the students in a broader way?”

Two related elements critical to institutions meeting goals are more flexible learning options and defining student success. From competency-based learning to open educational resources and remote learning, there is a huge movement to make degree paths faster, more efficient and more relevant. Florida International University, for example, requires students to earn three certificate badges to graduate, and they are not in traditional areas such as communication and writing but in data analytics, artificial intelligence and emotional intelligence.

Preparing students for the world of work in the coming years will require higher education to be far more agile, innovative and transformative.

“Success isn’t a GPA or a degree anymore,” Huseby says. “How do we as an institution do a better job of partnering with local employers and national employers to really define what our curriculum should be imparting? The use of technology is really accelerating in terms of the necessity for both delivering education and also delivering most services that we consume. Artificial intelligence is going to be extremely important going forward to all of education.”

Todd Heilman, Chief Success Officer at higher ed customer relationship management firm Element451, says AI will bring new solutions for top concerns, including one of the biggest heading through 2022: enrollment declines. “AI will allow institutions to manage risk factors, intervene, alert stakeholders and provide resolution to address student concerns in a timely and effective manner,” he says. “In order to address enrollment challenges, it is essential that institutions adopt the necessary technology to engage students, measure the engagement, segment by risk and take the appropriate action. AI will be imperative in these initiatives.”

What to expect in the coming year

There is an inordinate amount of considerations weighing on the minds of leaders heading into 2022, including affordability, advancement, discounting, student loan debt, business partnerships and how to further grow DEI initiatives and maintain civil discourse on campuses. Huseby and others weighed in on a few other areas where higher ed must continue to evolve.

The Big Four: COVID, supply chain, inflation and workforce issues. “They’re all intermingled. COVID is going to be with us for a long time and inflation is going to have a much bigger impact on higher ed than we’ve seen thus far,” Huseby says. “COVID has been very expensive. It’s taken a lot of school resources as well as external resources—testing students at no charge, smaller class sizes, office hours, managing the dining hall, and capacity. And costs are going up so much everywhere.” Low unemployment also means a struggle to get workers at reasonable wages. And will stimuli continue to be a foundation for institutions or will they go away?

Setting goals and hitting targets. “Whether it’s student retention or graduation rates, how do we develop flexible learning models so that our students can achieve those goals?” Huseby asks. “Taking a longer-term view has been impacted by COVID somewhat, but that has to be a focus. Making the necessary investments in technology to get there quicker rather than later is really important.”

Embracing technology. Kiko Suarez, VP of Higher Education and Workforce Development at Territorium, says, “Technology will continue to emerge to create a way to document a comprehensive learner record of what a student knows and has learned. Institutions will use secure portable learning ‘passports’ with the competencies and skills that learners acquire during their college journey, above and beyond the traditional ‘course/grade’ information available in a traditional transcript.”

New marketing tactics. “Schools will use digital marketing for recruiting much more seriously than before,” says Element451 CEO Ardis Kadiu. “Until now, social media has been primarily about brand building. Schools have also relied on retargeting ads to names they purchased from standardized testing companies. Those approaches simply won’t work to really move the needle.”

Managing staff and faculty burnout. “Faculty are starting to get fatigued,” Huseby says, noting the percentage of stressed faculty has increased threefold since the pandemic started. “Students can’t learn without the faculty, so how is faculty managed and treated? At the same time, institutions must help faculty move along in terms of their use of technology, combining hybrid, virtual and in-classroom learning experiences.”

Creating value: “The value of education is still going to reside in going back to the basics,” Huseby says. “The social experience is an important one for more traditional students. For the more non-traditional student—which is becoming more and more the traditional student—the value is going to be added by flexibility of approach and offering curriculum that gives them an opportunity to elevate their lives. And that’s going to be different by geographic area and understanding what their demands are so that you’re meeting them on a more of an individual basis.”

The post Looking ahead in higher education, with a focus on 2030 appeared first on University Business.

Among its 2,200 member institutions, NC-SARA’s sixth annual data report shows that exclusively remote learning enrollment jumped by 93% year-over-year from fall 2019 to 2020.

Another key data point released by the nonprofit organization is that two-thirds of students chose to do that online learning in their own state, nearly tripling the amount from the previous year to 3.9 million students, as the quick shift occurred. But even those choosing to go out of state to enroll in exclusively distance education was up by about 500,000 students.

“In a lot of ways, NC-SARA’s latest data report and dataset align with our expectations that distance education enrollment would skyrocket during the pandemic,” NC-SARA President and CEO Dr. Lori Williams said. “But it also sheds light on the ways higher education may continue to evolve and change in months and years after the COVID-19 pandemic, and we have signals for possible long-term modality shifts that may permanently alter the pursuit of postsecondary education.”

Some 700 institutions also participated in an exit survey provided by NC-SARA, which indicated the potential for the continuation of distance learning opportunities. Nearly 60% of the respondents that moved courses to the remote option (most of the others already were fully online) planned to use some or all of distance learning in the future.

“When it comes to affordability and access, this could be a very positive development to help more students pursue postsecondary education—but maintaining a strong focus on quality must also be a top priority for states, institutions and other higher education leaders,” Williams said.

One respondent told NC-SARA that “COVID response has taught us a lot about how we can effectively implement large-scale remote learning. These lessons are going to inform future decisions about expanding remote learning options.”

Inside the data

From the study, public institutions saw the highest jump in students making the transition to online at +144%. Tribal college students, though comprising a far smaller share, saw exclusive distance learning jump 107%, while private non-profits rose 47%. For-profits saw a 17% gain in those students.

Out-of-state learning placements sustained only a 4% decrease, stunning given the nature of those who must perform clinical hours for nursing, pre-service teaching and internships.

“We really thought it would be more than that,” said Terri Taylor-Strout, Educational Program Architect and Research Analyst at NC-SARA. “What it tells us is that a lot of people stuck with their programs, did their internships or did their student teaching. And institutions, in some cases, got creative with doing it virtually.”

Healthcare placements represented the vast majority at 56%, another surprising statistic given the prevalence and unknowns of COVID-19.

“It hints to the idea that people in those health professions continued with their education, putting themselves at risk to continue going into the hospital or the health care setting, to continue their degree program by doing that internship or helping deal with the pandemic,” Taylor-Straut said. “So that was heartening data to find.”

Aside from the sheer numbers provided on member institutions regarding distance learning, the NC-SARA report offers a unique breakdown that compares state-by-state where students are enrolling and where they are seeking exclusive distance-learning opportunities out of state.

“There are some silver linings that may provide opportunities for flexibility and greater access to education and to learning placement opportunities going forward,” said Rachel Christeson, Associate Director for Research and Data Analysis at NC-SARA.

The post Nearly 60% of colleges want to keep distance learning momentum going appeared first on University Business.

Kona Gray is a landscape architect and Principal at EDSA, which has been behind some of the world’s most unique designs including the Atlantis Paradise Island, Savannah’s streetscapes, the Cosmopolitan hotel in Las Vegas and many of Dubai’s stunning hotels and islands. It also has creatively reshaped and honed some dynamic campuses, including two beauties in South Florida – Nova Southeastern University and Florida International University.

Though close to Miami and Fort Lauderdale and with space at a premium, each boasts alluring outdoor spaces – a key during the COVID-19 pandemic – where cabanas, covered patios, pathways and terraces offer vibrant yet relaxing areas for administrators, students and faculty to gather.

For those institutions that lack similar resort-style amenities or are hamstrung by campus flow, an integrated makeover may be in order. The Society for College and University Planning stresses the importance of the use of space for institutions to meet strategic and academic goals. The SCUP says in its guidance that “a campus can be nurturing. It can be inviting. It can be stimulating. It can be the physical manifestation of an institution’s mission, a reminder of the promise and potential waiting to be unleashed.”

Cohesive campus planning and long-term vision can ensure they are keeping up with trends and meeting student needs. Gray says bringing those exterior spaces to life is one way colleges can set themselves apart, now and in the future.

University Business sat down with Gray to get his take on outdoor design trends and some of the key elements that colleges may be overlooking when redesigning those spaces:

Where are campuses going with their design, especially in this age of COVID?

The No. 1 thing that we were able to do on many of the university campuses we serve was to help reemphasize the spaces between buildings. That trend has actually been accelerated due to COVID.

Universities also have been relying on parking lots right next to buildings. [We said] ‘why don’t you remove that parking and create a plaza space or create a place of gathering for students? Or create a small amphitheater where you can maximize some opportunities for teaching. Maybe you’re pushed for space in the interior, but if you use this outdoor amphitheater, you could actually make that happen without having to build a new building.

We’re also going to flexible spaces outdoors, where you can use a space for morning yoga, then for a classroom setting and then later in the day for an assembly.

What are some of the biggest design challenges you’ve encountered and some solutions?

Big challenges are weather, technology and having access to power. In the case of weather, instead of building at $400-$500 per foot for a new building, you can build a small pavilion that allows you to be indoors but still have that outdoor feel. We’ve recommended using outdoor tents to allow activities to occur. Sometimes these are temporary but end up being more permanent. Even those in northern climates are realizing, it may be cold, but you can use heaters.

Our clients have real-world issues, including COVID. The back-to-school push was contingent on getting people together safely. How do we space them out, especially on campuses that are already overloaded?

The simple things are the challenges. Having strong wi-fi throughout your campus. Having spaces that have opportunities for you to plug in. The idea of outdoor classrooms, one thing that gets missed is all the stuff that goes with it: outdoor writing utensils, whiteboards or blackboards, having access to restrooms. Those are the little things that sometimes get overlooked.

Cost is always a consideration for colleges and universities. Have you seen a ratcheting back of spending? It doesn’t seem like it, with construction projects and new exterior design happening throughout the pandemic.

Universities and colleges are competing for the same bodies. With the advent of online resources, they have another bite at their market share. Many students are saying, ‘I don’t need to be on a college campus. I can do this from my home, especially when half of their classes are taught virtually.’ So the light bulb goes off. What’s the value here? What am I spending money on? Campuses are building and continuing to move forward.

Students are looking for residence halls that have a much higher level of quality than they did in the past: resort-style pools, amenities, things for them to do. Because it isn’t just about learning. It’s about socializing and wanting to be in a space that’s nice. The whole idea of study pods, which came off of the cabana idea, has really resonated with a lot of our clients. We see that as a major trend going forward. We all remember the days of going to a university when it just wasn’t so nice. That’s not where universities are going now. A lot of that has to do with demand.

Other than buildings or structures, how much consideration is being given to walkways, pathways, plantings and elements that tie their campus together in a modern way?

The elements that make a landscape are very important – the furniture, the places for people to rest and hang out, good lighting. We know that when prospective students are going to a campus, they come back and check it out at certain times of the day.

And then simple circulation. We want to make sure that it’s easy to get around, it’s easy to understand where you are. It’s easy to see the nodes of activity where people gather – basic campus planning of situating spaces between the buildings where people gather, but also where people cross paths, where you’ll see your friend on your way to your next class, or you’ll be able to grab a professor as they’re leaving the class and have a little bit more opportunity to talk with them. Making it more walkable – the traditional college setting, as you see people walk into the quad. You look at Harvard, that’s why Harvard Yard is so monumental. Those types of spaces really matter.

What about using bridges or elevated walkways as both design elements and to help traffic flow?

We always tell clients, if you’re going to build a bridge, program it. Do something with that space so the bridge becomes wide enough where you can actually have activities happening on it, like The High Line in New York, where you have an elevated park on your campus. That’s a big idea that I’m sure a lot of universities have overlooked. They are simply thinking, we’ve got to get students from here to there. In some of our master plans, we promoted land bridges and things of that nature, allowing more activity to happen when you’re crossing circulation. It’s costly, but at the same time if you program it, then you can monetize it.

We’ve seen really innovative uses of outdoor spaces at urban campuses over the past few years. What can city colleges do to take advantage of their lack of acreage?

A land-grant institution has hundreds of thousands of acres versus a city campus that’s maybe on 20. What it means is that your spaces become that much more important. Finding ways to wrap those courtyards in between spaces. Taking advantage of your roofs, what we call the fifth façade. A lot of cities, especially New York and Chicago, really take advantage of roof decks and terraces. That’s a wonderful opportunity for classroom spaces that break out from those buildings. Those buildings aren’t just indoors. You have the opportunities to be outdoors. But you have to think vertical. You can’t go horizontal in these urban conditions.

Are a lot of colleges taking advantage of the roofs they have?

Not as many as you’d think. We are members of the Society for College and University Planning. Some of the data that I’ve been seeing on these urban campuses haven’t touched on that. I think I might be writing a white paper on that soon!

What about other elements where campus design is breaking from the norm?

The space at Nova Southeastern has cabanas. Their main Student Center has a restaurant called the Flight Deck, and outside, we did a kitchen bar area for students to hang out, watch games and just be together. We will continue to see that. Outdoor seating areas for activities and dining is definitely the way to go. Having a Starbucks-type situation on your campus where you have a large outdoor patio, where people can hang out, grab a coffee and study makes a major, major difference. I studied at the University of Georgia, and Athens is such a great downtown setting for a university€”there are cafes and outdoor seating everywhere. Students are studying all day or they’re just socializing. That’s how you build that activity.

What about residence halls? What looks different now than say 10-15 years ago?

They’re not the same. They’re really high-end. The Res Hall we completed at Florida International University (above) is really great€”they actually elevated the building in some portions so you have social rooms that break out to an outdoor space that is covered but open on the sides. So there’s ping pong, foosball, little lounge areas. It is amazing and students love it. We’re creating a lot of spaces with residence halls that allow students to want to be there. From a financial standpoint, res halls sometimes cost as much as tuition. It really is a major economic generator for universities. The main purpose is to have you on campus so you can really experience college life. But for the commuter, they need that space, too. On many campuses, we’ve designed spaces where people that drive in can have a place to hang out, so they’re not just getting in their car and leaving.

The post How colleges can leverage outdoor spaces to expand campus activity appeared first on University Business.

The students’ group, which includes HBCU reform advocates Live Movement, has posted several videos that have gone viral showing mold in dorm rooms, running water on floors and walls torn apart that university officials said were necessary to complete repairs of a cracked pipe. They also claim infestation of rodents is occurring in other buildings on campus, including a dining hall, and say not enough COVID-19 tests are being conducted (Howard conducted more than 65,000 tests since August, with 469 coming positive).

Students have been staging protests since Tuesday after a town hall that was hosted by the university’s student association did not include the attendance of top administrators or President Dr. Wayne Frederick, with whom they wanted to address their concerns. They said they are willing to wait it out until demands are met.

“We have our rights, and we are going to be posting them on the doors,” Howard University senior Aniyah Vines said outside the Blackburn Center in a video posted on Twitter. “None of our demands have been met. That means we’re not leaving. We’re not going anywhere. We’re tired of empty promises. Enough is enough.”

Dr. Cynthia Evers, Vice President of Student Affairs, responded with four separate statements on the protests, addressing the housing situation at Howard, the Board of Trustees’ decision to vacate student representation at meetings and support they say is available to students through various campus departments.

“The well-being of our students is always one of our top concerns, and we will also support the right to a peaceful protest,” she wrote. “The Office of Student Affairs continues to provide support to students who come to us in need.”

But Evers said “a small group interrupted the constructive dialogue and instigated a sit-in … and moved to occupy the building” and could face potential discipline for violations of Howard’s Student Code of Conduct. Meanwhile, Vines said student protestors faced “intimidation” from police, with students having to lock arms to remain in the building.

The students aren’t letting up. #BlackburnTakeover pic.twitter.com/6aiLVFmj0X

— Ubiquity (@jacob_bellevue) October 14, 2021

Students thus far refuse to give in, and though there were only a dozen or so that remained inside the building overnight, about a hundred protestors took part in a peaceful but vocal demonstration outside of it on Tuesday. They are demanding that:

• “Howard host an in-person town hall by the end of the month that includes Frederick and other administrators
• The university reinstate affiliate trustee positions (students, faculty and alumni) on the Board of Trustees with voting power, and
• That the president and chairman of the board propose a meeting with student leadership outlining their housing plan to protect the incoming classes of Howard’s immediate future.”

Howard University student takeover Blackburn building over housing and tuition issues. They are demanding meeting with President and Board and say they are not leaving until demands are met #HU #BlackburnTakeover pic.twitter.com/L51uGNNxvy

— Anthony Tilghman (@AnthonyTilghman) October 13, 2021

Please come out and stand (sit) with us! We have strength in numbers #BlackburnTakeover pic.twitter.com/UeKssJeKeN

— Jordyn Taylor (@jayteeejay) October 13, 2021

Howard University features several housing options for students, including its North Hall and Bethune Annex, which have been cited by students as less than desirable. Evers said the occupancy rate this fall was at 94% and that Howard addressed concerns, though she did not say whether the issues brought now by students—reports of black mold and water leaks—were among those discussed. She said beds increased by 15% this year over last year (5,714 total), but it is unclear whether those data account for the pandemic-interrupted academic year in 2020, when residence halls were closed last August. This year, students who pay anywhere from $7,000 to more than $10,000 annually for triple-occupancy to single-occupancy rooms, have been on campus for the fall semester since mid-August.

“In preparation for the 2021-22 academic year, we also subsidized the rents at two new off-campus apartments, which accounted for an additional 700 beds for our students,” Evers said in her statement.

Students at Howard University are doing a sit in at Blackburn Center and have entered their second day. They are protesting over housing conditions and a lack of representation on the school’s board of trustees, and they say the school’s administration h… https://t.co/ircRd3vW1M pic.twitter.com/rsJhWPa3lF

— YBF CHIC (@TheYBF) October 13, 2021

As for a meeting requested by students with trustees, Evers said it “has been addressed by the Board of Trustees and will be discussed at the Student Life Committee town hall that is scheduled for this month. University administrators also have sat down with student leaders for lunch to open up a dialogue about their concerns over the past two weeks.”

The post Mold, water leaks? Howard students protest, sit in over housing conditions appeared first on University Business.