College parents...fall semester?

[JimMIA]

My concern about in person classes on campus is this, if someone test positive during the semester, I assume they go into quarantine for a certain number of days. Do the people who shared classroom space also go into quarantine? I feel like all students would be in quarantine at one point or another. I have the same fear for K-12. People will test positive and that will effect the rest of the class.

Contact tracing is going to be the key to those scenarios. Contact tracing will be easier on college campuses, especially for students living in dorms, but it's still going to be difficult.

And with K-12, you have the whole family spreading out going about their life. Mom and/or Dad go off to work, or shopping, or some level of socializing. Siblings may go to different schools, so one kid comes home sick and you not only have the problem of other students, teachers, and staff at Johnny's school, but sister Sally goes to a different school with another whole set of contacts. And they both have neighborhood friends who go to additional different schools.

K-12 is potentially a nighmare, which is probably one reason why the teacher's union (Florida Education Association) filed a lawsuit against the state today.

 

[PollyannaMom]

Son's college has come out today with their reopening plan. Biggest takeaway for us is that all students need a negative test within two weeks of arrival on campus

We got that same instruction - but within 72 hours of returning. I don't even know if you always get results that fast!

The other blended form is to create two groups of students, alternating between in-person and online instruction.

That's what the latest e-mail says DS's classes be doing.

 

[mom2rtk]

We have an online parent town hall on Wednesday so expect details then.

 

[billlaurie]

We got that same instruction - but within 72 hours of returning. I don't even know if you always get results that fast!

My son's school is saying within 10 days of returning they need to be tested. In my area, the turn around is 7 to 10 days and expected to get worse. Complicating matters is that he is only 17 so ineligible for CVS and mail in Labcorp, Quest. Our doctor won't test without symptoms.
edited to add that they must have the negative covid test before being allowed in the dorms, or a positive antibody test. Masks required everywhere except dorm rooms.

 

[JimMIA]

DD's school (UCF) is testing all dorm residents, and the university is paying for the tests. At various venues on campus (classrooms, libraries, etc), there will be mandatory temperature checks prior to entering the venue.

Masks are required at all times on campus, and washable, reusable cloth masks are provided for all students, faculty, and staff. The university bought 100,000 reusable masks (68,000 students).

 

[kymom99]

Well I’m very let down. My husband works at a university near us. My son goes to a different school 2 hours away. My husband told me today the workers from the company that contracts to do the dining at his work refuse to wear masks. Even though it’s in the opening plan that all contractors have to wear face coverings. If they are allowed to get away with that it’s just not going to work.

 

[a1tinkfans]

i'm worried about this. hofstra. small private school. my ds attends and that's in the back of my mind, these schools not being able to withstand keeping open. also you have to factor in the loss of international students...

International students .. about the visa issue? , that’s been changed.. they ll be back, most attend for FREE.

 

[HeatherC]

I think the testing issue is going to become quite a big problem. I just read that most of the labs are now delaying results between 10 and 14 days. If the numbers continue rising, testing will be even more backlogged. Campuses can test all they want but if you have to wait two weeks for an answer I’m not sure how they will maintain a control over possible outbreaks.

 

[CarolAnn856]

International students .. about the visa issue? , that’s been changed.. they ll be back, most attend for FREE.

First sentence is true. Second sentence is not.

 

[mom2rtk]

I think the testing issue is going to become quite a big problem. I just read that most of the labs are now delaying results between 10 and 14 days. If the numbers continue rising, testing will be even more backlogged. Campuses can test all they want but if you have to wait two weeks for an answer I’m not sure how they will maintain a control over possible outbreaks.

My friend's husband was tested 11 days ago and still doesn't have a result. Adding tens of thousands of students to that load 1) will have marginal benefit to colleges because of how much exposure can happen in that time and 2) will only slow down community results even more.

 

[JimMIA]

International students .. about the visa issue? , that’s been changed.. they ll be back, most attend for FREE.

It may be free for the student, but I believe most of their governments are paying for their education. International students are certainly a major source of revenue for many universities.

 

[olwyngdh]

International students .. about the visa issue? , that’s been changed.. they ll be back, most attend for FREE.

Two international students from my daughter's incoming class so far (that we have heard about) are unable to get Visas. One is from France and the other from Germany. Neither student was going to be attending for free.

 

[Walt4ever]

My daughter was to be a freshman this fall out of state. They had been saying since May that they would have in person classes. We were told that enrollment fees and dorm deposits would be fully refundable until July 1, and afterwards could be applied to Winter or Spring quarter if enrollment was delayed due to Covid. Last week, conveniently after the July 1 date, they sent out an email that all fall classes would be virtual.

We opted to push her start date to Winter quarter.

Virtual just isn't the same, certainly isn't worth the tuition, much less the dorm, and it's only 2 months. Fall quarter is September to November. Winter quarter starts at the beginning of January. So she won't be missing that much. I had asked if she could take classes this fall here (local colleges will be in person). They said she'd have to reapply, which wouldn't be an issue getting accepted, but she'd also have to reapply for all of her scholarships. The scholarships are the only way we can afford for her to go to this school, so she can't risk losing them.

In addition to losing out on all the spring and graduation activities for her hs senior year, she was also one of the leads in the school play that didn't happen. They had rescheduled prom, graduation, and a few other senior traditions to August, but cancelled those last week as well.

 

[lifesavacation]

Hopefully, the students who need COVID tests prior to campus arrival can get them. I spent a couple hours yesterday trying to schedule my daughter for a COVID test. She will be flying back from CA after staying with my sister. Since she’s asymptomatic and without a known exposure, I had a very difficult time finding a place that would test her. If I would have said she was at a protest, they would have prioritized her, but just travel from a state with high COVID activity wasn’t enough.

 

[soccerdad72]

Hopefully, the students who need COVID tests prior to campus arrival can get them. I spent a couple hours yesterday trying to schedule my daughter for a COVID test. She will be flying back from CA after staying with my sister. Since she’s asymptomatic and without a known exposure, I had a very difficult time finding a place that would test her. If I would have said she was at a protest, they would have prioritized her, but just travel from a state with high COVID activity wasn’t enough.

Yeah, we're going to have to figure out how to get our son scheduled for a test. He has his annual physical with his doctor on Monday, so I figured he can start there and see if he can get the doctor to write up an order to go get tested. If he won't, we'll be scrambling around trying to find a CVS or RiteAid that will take him.

 

[okeydokey]

International students .. about the visa issue? , that’s been changed.. they ll be back, most attend for FREE.

The VISA issue isn't as straightforward as you think. They backed off of the in person requirement for students already enrolled, but not for any new students arriving this Fall. Universities are still finding ways to offer some in person instruction for these students.

 

[laughinplace199]

My son goes to Villanova and they are requiring that all students be tested before moving back to campus. The school will be paying for the tests and they're supposed to send students more info next week. My daughter goes to Bates. Since it is such a small school, they will be testing students weekly. Neither of my kids have heard if their classes will be in person, online, or some mix of both.

 

[justafigment27]

The problem with all of this testing that colleges plan on requiring is that there is not enough fast acting reagent to meet demand. When they came up with the plans, it was probably because they believed testing would be available to everyone, but that’s no longer the case. Many areas are no longer able to get any fast acting reagent at all or are getting very limited quantities. The other test is much more labor intensive and takes longer to process, so labs are not able to keep up with demand and testing facilities are back to limiting who can get tested.

 

[disneyworldsk]

International students .. about the visa issue? , that’s been changed.. they ll be back, most attend for FREE.

oh wow. i didn't know that.

 

[mom2rtk]

International students .. about the visa issue? , that’s been changed.. they ll be back, most attend for FREE.

I actually heard that Universities love international students because most of them pay full freight. In reality it's probably a mix of situations.