We hope you were able to join us for our Friday 5 Live today as we examined how to support our students’ mental health needs this fall semester.  We are grateful for Dr. Aaron Hughey’s insights and recommendations.  We are now podcasting Friday 5 Live so you can more easily share this resource with colleagues! Please join us October 23 as we host a panel of students from across the United States who will update us on their fall experiences.

We are introducing a new segment to our Friday 5 Newsletter highlighting a student experience during this strange academic year.  We value hearing and learning from our students! 

Student Name and College: Alexis, Crafton Hills College

Major: Psychology

Hometown: Rialto, CA

Share one thing you wish your faculty knew about your experience this fall:

I work full time and I go to school full time. Although I’m determined to get my degree by any means necessary, I am concerned about those students who might come to the Zoom meeting the first day and then I will never see them again or they are still enrolled in the class and they never post on the discussion board.  Faculty need to make it known to their students that they care about them and that they are willing to help them succeed.

What has been the resource you’ve found the most helpful this semester?

Having the resources of talking to my counselor to make sure I'm on the right track.

What has been the best part of your semester so far?

That I’m able to do my work at my own pace.

Inside Higher Ed this week looks at the enrollment data for the fall semester reported by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Overall undergraduate enrollment is down 2.5%, but at community colleges that decline is 7.5%. Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, said that “the results are extremely concerning for community colleges and the many low-income students they serve.”Inside Higher Ed reports this week on furloughs being announced at institutions across the United States.  Last month, “employment in state government education dropped by 49,000 jobs and employment in private education fell by 69,000 jobs.”  These cuts are a second round of pandemic-related budget reductions.  Many institutions trimmed auxiliary spending in the spring semester so now must cut personnel.  “Personnel is the largest line item, and personnel is going to be the area where most institutions are going to have to look for additional savings as they balance their budgets,” shared Jim Hundrieser, the National Association of College and University Business Officers.

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We hope you will be able to join us for our Friday 5 Live on October 9 as we examine how to support our students’ mental health needs this fall semester.  Dr. Aaron Hughey, from Western Kentucky University, will share with us recommendations for how we can anticipate student mental health needs and provide support for students in person and at a distance.  We are now podcasting Friday 5 Lives so you can more easily share this resource with colleagues!  Please join us on October 9!

The CDC released data this week indicating that COVID cases in people aged 18-22 increased 55% between August and September, the time in which students were moving back to college campuses.  Appalachian State University announced the death of a sophomore from complications due to COVID.  At Florida State University, police shut down a party of 1,000 plus students. Institutions are announcing measures to address budget shortfalls.  The University of Delaware will furlough all 3,500 staff and use $100 million from its endowment to resolve some of the financial gap.

Inside Higher Ed this week looks at the enrollment data for the fall semester reported by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. Overall undergraduate enrollment is down 2.5%, but at community colleges that decline is 7.5%. Doug Shapiro, executive director of the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, said that “the results are extremely concerning for community colleges and the many low-income students they serve.”

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We hope you were able to join us for our Friday 5 Live when we discussed working and teaching from home while we also support children of all ages learning at home in all manner of ways.  We were fortunate to have Andrea, Sarah and Kristen join us to reflect on their experiences and also share valuable insights they’ve gained!  Please join us on October 9 as we examine how to support our students’ mental health needs this fall semester.

COVID cases continue to increase on college campuses around the country this week.  On Monday, the University of Colorado at Boulder announced it was shifting all classes online for two weeks following an outbreak on campus.  Northeastern University suspended 11 students for not following campus health guidelines; the university announced that it will apply a portion of their fall tuition to the spring semester versus taking the entire tuition this semester.  At the University of Michigan, faculty has voted “no confidence” in the university’s President Mark S. Schlissel in part as a response to the institution’s handling of the fall return experience.  James Madison University will have students return to campus after sending them home abruptly the week after classes began.

Education Dive reports this week on institutions’ efforts to address student mental health needs.  “In a recent survey of more than 45,000 students attending public research universities, roughly one-third screened positive for major depressive disorder and 39% screened positive for generalized anxiety disorder.” In a separate survey, 60% of students indicated that it was harder to find mental health care due to COVID.  The College of Charleston is offering virtual mental health services through a relationship with the Medical University of South Carolina.  InsideTrack is offering coaching services to support students in crisis at ten different institutions.

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We hope you were able to join us for our Friday 5 Live when Eric Salahub shared tips and tricks for engaging students online, recommendations we can use in the classroom and in student services.  Please join us next Friday, September 25, when we talk about working and teaching from home while we also support children of all ages learning at home in all manner of ways.  We are fortunate to have 3 educators join us to reflect on their experiences and also share valuable insights they’ve gained.

This week started on a somber note as North Georgia Technical College announced that its president, Mark Ivester, died from COVID over the weekend. The University of Arizona has advised students to spend 14 days in voluntary quarantine in an attempt to slow COVID spread. The University of Wisconsin at Madison similarly announced that it has restricted students to “essential” activities, such as class attendance and work, for two weeks. Students who contract COVID at the University of Richmond will quarantine in modular homes.  Institutions continue to share spring 2021 plans with the California State University system announcing all 23 of its institutions will continue to be online. The Big Ten announced it will play football this fall reversing an earlier decision.

According to the Chronicle this week, colleges are releasing spring plans which mostly mirror the fall semester with course modalities remaining consistent semester to semester.  Wichita State University’s provost explained releasing plans early will allow faculty and students time to prepare; their spring semester will be predominantly hybrid course offerings.  Course calendars are shifting as some institutions like Carnegie Mellon delay the start of the spring semester or cut spring break out to decrease the amount of travel back and forth to campus during the spring semester.

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Congratulations to New England College whose image of the Library Unicorn welcoming students to campus won our first Back to School Picture contest!  Check it out below!  Join us next Friday, September 18, for our next Friday 5 Live when Eric Salahub shares with us tips and tricks for engaging students online, recommendations we can use in the classroom and in student services.  We hope you will join us to get some practical ways we can create an active learning environment for our students!

COVID responses continue to dominate the headlines in higher education this week.  Bradley University announced on Tuesday that all students would be required to quarantine in their residences for two weeks as a result of COVID cases.  West Virginia University shifted classes online in response to an increase in cases at the Morgantown campus.  Baylor University and Louisiana Tech’s football game was postponed when 38 Louisiana Tech players tested positive for COVID-19. Some institutions like the University of Connecticut and Penn State University are already announcing spring plans which are consistent with fall plans of hybrid learning formats.

Education Dive reports this week on strikes and collective action taking place at colleges across the country.  At the University of Michigan, graduate student instructors and staff assistants are striking this week demanding: increased coronavirus testing, allowing graduate employees to switch to remote work, and “cutting ties with the local police and federal immigration authorities.” Another strike at the University of Iowa is demanding a shift to online learning.  Experts recommend that college leadership consult faculty before making decisions.  Institutions like the University of Florida have worked with employee unions to reach agreements.  

Institutions at all levels, K-12 and higher education, are using technology for contact tracing purposes.  Colleges, like the University of Alabama, are using apps to help trace and track students’ exposure to COVID. However, there is concern that such use of technology may lead institutions into questionable privacy territory for schools. Colleges and universities must still conform to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and other laws governing student privacy.  Experts are concerned that ongoing location tracking could lead to the appropriation and misuse of data by law enforcement and immigration.

At Innovative Educators, we recognize that it has been a challenging year for our friends in higher education, and we are inspired and amazed at all the hard work you’ve done to prepare for a fall semester that promises to be unlike any other!  We also believe in celebrating milestones and your accomplishments.  To that end, we would love to see your first day of school pictures of you, our colleagues and friends in higher education.  Please email your picture (at work, at home, in your shield or your mask) to Meg (meg@ieinfo.org) by the end of the day September 4.  One back-to-school pic entry will win a $250 scholarship for students at your institution (winner drawn at random!

Iowa State will not play football this weekend in front of 25,000 fans.  Ames, Iowa, has the highest per-capita rate of Covid-19 cases in the country. Institutions that have opened and moved students on campus continue to shift online after COVID breakouts including Colorado College and James Madison University which announced the move less than a week after class began.  Alabama State University announced that it has used CARES Act funding to purchase machines to scan students for COVID symptoms in popular gathering locations as well as technology that can assess students who are not distanced and encourage them to keep six feet apart.  We continue to watch the impact COVID-19 is having on higher education.

Faculty and staff around the U.S. are planning to pause their normal teaching and administrative duties on September 8 and 9 in an effort to focus efforts on addressing racial justice.  Faculty have proposed a teach-in on police brutality, racism, white supremacy and other issues over social media channels. Institutions like the University of Rochester have committed to lectures, workshops, and learning opportunities for students, staff, and faculty.  

"If the success of your [reopening] plan relies on 18- to 24-year-olds being responsible, then maybe it's not a very good plan." - Anna Pogarcic, editor-in-chief of the UNC student newspaper

Diverse Issues in Higher Education reports this week regarding summer enrollment trends. There was a surprising drop in community colleges which faced an almost 6% decrease in enrollment. Public non-profit four-year colleges experienced a 3% enrollment growth while private nonprofit schools saw a 4% increase. The report also found enrollment of Black students declined 8% within undergraduate programs and 11% at community colleges. The researchers recommend institutions offer support and provide clear information about types of credential and degree options.