Tracking Campus Responses to the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

American higher education institutions rapidly responded to the COVID-19 global pandemic. Between March 1st and April 4th, over 1,400 colleges and universities closed their doors and transitioned to online instruction. This paper uses a novel dataset and draws upon theories of institutional isomorphism to descriptively examine the trends in how higher education institutions responded to the Coronavirus pandemic. It finds little difference in institutional response based on campus infrastructure including, residence hall capacity, hospital affiliation, and medical degree offerings. There is some suggestive evidence, however, that institutions may have responded to external coercive isomorphic pressures from state governments and may have relied on a heuristic of peer institution closures to inform their decisions.

Online or in Person? Examining College Decisions to Reopen during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Fall 2020

“…The virus was spreading rapidly, and state governments began issuing stay-at-home orders to workers deemed nonessential ( Mervosh, Lu, and Swales 2020 ). Colleges across the country transitioned from in-person to online instruction, resulting in many students returning to their parents’ homes to complete their spring semester online ( Marsicano et al forthcoming ). Gradually, COVID-19 infections and deaths began to decline.…”

Information About COVID-19 Testing on College Websites in the New York City Metropolitan Area

“…Chi-square analyses were conducted to explore differences between small, medium and large colleges for each of the content categories. Statistically significant differences were observed in regard to the provision of information on how to make an appointment for COVID-19 testing (χ 2 (2) = 8.1, P < 0.05), and information on free testing (χ 2 (2) = 7.0, P < 0.05) with larger institutions more likely to provide this information than smaller institutions. A total of 124 (82.7%) of institutions reported testing data to the campus community, with the majority of providing this data biweekly (62.9%).…”

“…The outbreak and community transmission of COVID-19 in the United States (U.S.) in March and April of 2020 impacted many, including U.S. institutions of higher education (IHEs). The New York City (NYC) metropolitan area, defined as a geographic area encompassing counties in close proximity to NYC [1], was among the hardest hit areas in the country, forcing IHEs to close campuses, transition to online instruction and send residential students home for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester [2]. In the late spring and early summer of 2020, as new infections were declining, attention shifted to how to safely re-open IHEs for the fall semester.…”

Undergraduate neuroscience education: Meeting the challenges of the 21st century

“…Because of the COVID-19 pandemic resulting from SARS-CoV-2 transmission, by March 13 some 300 American colleges and universities had moved their classes online [ 1 ]. Subsequently, hundreds more converted to some form of remote learning – aka distance and online learning – severely restricting access to campus that eliminated hands-on, laboratory experiences for many science students [ 2 ]. This crisis in education was unique and cut across all sectors of the academy, but was especially traumatic in fields based on bench work and personal instruction such as that used in the neurosciences.…”

“…Within the neuroscience education community from around the world, there was a tremendous outpouring of mutual support on the Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience (FUN) listserv. Neuroscience faculty shared numerous resources for remote learning – beginning with posts from William Grisham at the University of California at Los Angeles and Ashley Juavinett at the University of California at San Diego on March 11, just days after Stanford University and Touro College became the first institutions to announce their transitions to online instruction on March 6 [ 2 ]. Following Grisham’s and Juavinett’s posts numerous faculty members and the Neuroscience Scholars Program at the Society for Neuroscience shared resources to facilitate the conversion of in-person teaching to a digital environment.…”