We hope you were able to join us for our Friday 5 Live.   We were grateful to have Andrea G. Harris, Senior Director, Student Administrative Service at Pepperdine University, join us! We discussed how to make work from home “work” including maintaining boundaries and improving overall well-being.  Please join us on August 7 for a discussion about how to battle virtual fatigue as we prepare students, staff and faculty for the fall semester.

With COVID cases continuing to rise nationally, institutions differ widely this week on their responses to fall reopening plans.  Spelman College initially announced a limited return to campus, but will now be online for the fall. Two other prominent HBCUs, Morehouse College and Clark Atlanta University, also announced online for the fall.  Taking plans in a different direction, the University of North Carolina system will have full residence halls with double occupancy, reports Inside Higher Education.  We continue to watch closely as fall plans evolve at campuses nationwide.

According to a report released on Tuesday by the Education Trust, Black students have less access now to selective public colleges than they did 20 years ago.  Since 2000, the percentage of Black students has dropped at nearly 60 percent of the 101 institutions cited in the report.  Colleges in states with large Black populations were the least accessible.  The authors caution that colleges will have to make major changes to become more inclusive campuses. Both Chronicle of Higher Education and The Hechinger Report provided coverage of this research this week.

NPR reports this week on how COVID continues to impact institutions’ fall opening plans. In June and early July, schools were more optimistic about their ability to acquire tests and supplies; however, now that start days are weeks away, they're realizing that "there's just no way." More colleges are rolling back initial plans of in-person or hybrid fall and developing, instead, plans to rely heavily on virtual options. Students are complaining about how institutions are communicating changing plans. The NPR piece cited an Emory student who was asked to re-enroll in classes, saw that all options were virtual, but did not receive an official notice that the fall would be online until after the re-enrollment process.

"It's going to be an experiment this fall. It's going to be a test to see which solution worked better than the others," - Jessica Figenholtz, the higher education practice leader at Perkins and Will's Chicago office

We hope you will join us on Friday, July 24th for our next Friday 5 Live.   Andrea G. Harris, Senior Director, Student Administrative Service at Pepperdine University, will join us to talk about common issues that all people working from home experience, and how to maintain boundaries between personal and professional areas. We will also discuss balance and how to improve overall well-being.

COVID cases continue to rise this week in parts of the United States, impacting institutional decisions for the fall semester.  Vermont and Utah have announced mandatory face covering rules at colleges and universities while the University of Georgia system reversed an initial decision to not require face coverings on campuses. Additional fall sports schedules have been cancelled: Hampton University announced it will not participate in a fall sports season.  Leagues including the Patriot League, CIAA and NESCAC will also not play this fall.  We continue to watch closely as fall plans evolve at campuses nationwide.

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports this week that the Trump Administration rescinded guidance that “would have prohibited international students from studying at campuses offering online-only instruction this fall.” The announcement was made on Tuesday after multiple lawsuits were filed amidst widespread pushback from the higher-education community.  Education Dive reported Thursday that there may be a replacement ruling in the works.

Pennsylvania’s public college system has struggled for the last decade.  Collectively, its 14 campuses have experienced a 20% decrease in enrollment while reduced state investments have forced the system to drive up tuition costs.  A bill signed by Gov. Tom Wolf earlier this month enables the higher education system’s governing board and chancellor to arrange for most of its colleges to share certain services, as well as expand, consolidate or create branch campuses, and cut through red tape.

We hope you were able to join us for today’s Friday 5 Live.  Dr. Denise Swett talked about how to develop student resources and creatively address supporting students when budgets are tight.  We appreciate Denise’s insights and her positivity in uncertain times!

As COVID cases rise in parts of the United States, many institutions are announcing plans for the fall that do not include full face-to-face instruction.  Pomona and Scripps announced online-only instruction for the fall semester. Higher education continues to address the liability of returning to campus.  North Carolina announced it will protect colleges from pandemic-related lawsuits.  Inside Higher Education reports this week on increased insurance premiums for colleges and universities.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday that international students will be prohibited from returning to or remaining in the United States this fall if the colleges they attend adopt online-only instruction models. This is a reversal of a decision that allowed international students to study online for the spring and summer semesters.  On Wednesday, Harvard and MIT responded by filing a suit in federal court to attempt to block the decision.

On Tuesday the White House pushed for full school reopening, reports Education Dive. Leaders “raised the closures ‘social-emotional impact on students' well-being and the community supports schools offer as reasons to return to a face-to-face environment.” However, the push to reopen schools contradicts advice provided by Dr. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and local health departments.  Medical experts advise that decisions about opening be made at the local level so community virus spread can be taken into consideration.

We hope you will join us on Friday, July 10th for our next Friday 5 Live.  Dr. Denise Swett will join us to talk about how to develop student support resources and creatively address supporting students when budgets are tight.

Our thoughts continue to focus on those protesting police violence and systemic racism in our country. The Chronicle reports this week on the University of South Carolina’s goal to have its Black student population match the number of Black residents in the state (about 27%).  Princeton has announced it will remove Woodrow Wilson’s name from their School of Public and International Affairs, citing Wilson’s segregationist views.  IE remains committed to sharing resources on the topics of antiracist training.  This week, EdSurge shared recommendations for engaging in DEI (diversity, equality and inclusion) work at a distance. Find tips for making teaching and interaction with students more inclusive in this piece from The Chronicle of Higher Education.

There is growing momentum for institutions to move away from requiring SAT and ACT scores as part of a student’s admissions process.  An increasing number of colleges and universities have announced that they will not require test scores for fall 2021 admissions, schools like Texas Tech and the entire Ivy League.  Advocates for an end to college admissions tests cite the growing body of research that indicates the tests are biased to affluent white students.

Colleges are reaching out to states seeking protection from COVID-19 liability.  Institutions that are planning in-person classes for the fall are also planning health measures like virus testing, contact tracing, and mandating face coverings.  However, no measures can guarantee a zero rate of infection for students, faculty and staff.  College leaders are concerned that returning to campus opens institutions up to the potential of virus-related litigation. While the American Council on Education has pushed Congress to authorize liability protections for colleges, there has been no move by the federal government to do so.  College leaders are now seeking safeguards from state lawmakers, with some degree of success.

We hope you will join us on Friday, June 10th for our next Friday 5 Live.  Dr. Denise Swett will join us to talk about how to develop student support resources and creatively address supporting students when budgets are tight.

Our thoughts continue to focus on those protesting police violence and systemic racism in our country. College students voiced their frustration over what they see as empty promises by administrators; students are looking for institutions to take action to address bias and racism.  Two Black scholars at the University of Virginia say they were denied tenure, their research belittled and their tenure process flawed raising the question of racial bias in their tenure review.  IE remains committed to sharing resources on the topics of antiracist training.  This week, Dr. Julia Metzker shared with the POD Network a Resource Guide for Anti-racist and Equity Producing Facilitation.

Diverse Issues in Higher Education reports this week on research about how to make college more affordable. A new brief by the think tank New America recommends developing four-year degree programs at community colleges as this provides an opportunity to students who would otherwise not pursue bachelor’s degree. One example: Florida’s average community college baccalaureate student is 31 years old, compared to 22 years old for public universities.  Bachelor’s degree programs at community colleges are less expensive and more accessible.  We will look to see if similar initiatives develop in other states. 

Research done by Gallup suggests college students who participate in athletics tended to fare better than nonathletes in their academic, personal and professional life during college and after graduation. Researchers concluded that the “differences between former athlete and nonathlete outcomes are evidence of the ‘built-in support system’ athletics provides throughout a student’s college experience, such as mentorship from peers and coaches and direct access to financial aid advisers and academic support.”  University administrators are encouraged to develop similar support structures for students across their institutions.

In order to honor Juneteenth, we hosted our Friday 5 Live on Thursday, June 18th. We were fortunate to have George Hoey as our guest.  George shared his thoughts as a higher education professional and a man of color about how we can support students of color on our campuses as well as faculty and staff.

Our thoughts continue this week to focus on those protesting the killing of George Floyd, police violence and systemic racism in our country.  Roanoke College announced this week the establishment of a Center for Studying Structures of Race.  Columbus State Community College, located in Ohio, will remove statues of Christoper Columbus.  As educators, it is vital that we acknowledge the work of those protesting for change in our country.  In this week’s Friday 5, we are continuing to include resources for higher education professionals as a starting point for the critical and necessary work of addressing institutionalized racism.

The Chronicle of Higher Education and Diverse Issues in Higher Education reported on an initiative coming out of the California Community College System to address campus racism.  Led by Dr. Shaun Harper, more than 60 community college presidents have committed resources to an alliance.  Leaders from institutions across the state will convene and, “focus on hiring and retaining faculty of color, confronting acts of racism on campus, using survey data to improve campus racial climate, addressing tensions between faculty of color and closing racial gaps in student transfer rates.”

Inside Higher Ed reports this week on the U.S. Supreme Court’s  decision that cements LGBTQ workers' protections from sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination.  As a result of this decision, colleges must ensure the fair treatment of transgender students playing campus sports and living in residence halls. Because the court redefined its interpretation of “sex” under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to encompass both sexual orientation and gender identity, this ruling now allows for challenges of this definition under Title IX, the law prohibiting sex discrimination at federally funded institutions.