Brown University President Christina Paxson is calling for the reopening of college campuses for the fall of 2020.
In an op-ed piece published in The New York Times on Sunday, Paxson discussed the academic and economical importance of institutions reopening in the fall.
Since the viral illness could likely still be an issue in the fall, she is also urging institutions to take immediate action in developing their own campus health plans focused on testing, contact tracing, and social distancing in an effort to combat the pandemic while students learn.
“The reopening of college and university campuses in the fall should be a national priority. Institutions should develop public health plans now that build on three basic elements of controlling the spread of infection: test, trace, and separate.”
She went on to note how detrimental college education is to the future of the American workforce and economy.
Paxson wrote, “Another crisis looms for students, higher education and the economy if colleges and universities cannot reopen their campuses in the fall.”
Although Paxson is in favor of reopening schools, she did note that institutions should plan according to the reality of a coronavirus resurgence. She discussed plans that may be costly but necessary to properly adhere to social distancing and quarantine guidelines.
“Testing and tracing will be useful only if students who are ill or who have been exposed to the virus can be separated from others. Traditional dormitories with shared bedrooms and bathrooms are not adequate. Setting aside appropriate spaces for isolation and quarantine (e.g. hotel rooms) may be costly, but necessary. It will also be necessary to ensure that students abide by the rigorous requirements of isolation and quarantine.”
If a resurgence does lead American education back to remote learning, Paxson believes there should be a plan in place for that type of shift. Paxson also noted her concerns about the obstacles associated with remote learning without preparation.
“We can’t simply send students home and shift to remote learning every time this happens,” she wrote. “Colleges and universities must be able to safely handle the possibility of infection on campus while maintaining the continuity of their core academic functions.”
As of Monday morning, there are more than 987,000 coronavirus cases in the United States and a death toll of over 55,000.