- Question
Should colleges and universities open in person for the Fall 2020 semester?
The COVID-19 pandemic has left the future of colleges and universities in a state of utter uncertainty. Across the world they are struggling to come up with safe and equitable strategies for reopening, but which one is best?
Yes – Students should be allowed back on campus for in-person classes
Colleges should reopen their doors in the fall and allow students to come back to campus. Nothing can beat the on-campus experience, and students deserve the opportunity to experience this.
No – Students should do the semester online and not come back to campus
This position argues colleges should hold the Fall 2020 semester online rather than reopen campuses. It holds that in-person classes risk outbreaks, that students congregating will spread infection, and that planning ahead is impossible amid such uncertainty.
Depends - On outside data
This position holds that whether colleges should reopen in person for autumn 2020 depends on outside data. It argues the answer turns on factors like local testing capacity, community transmission rates, student and staff health concerns, and where students are travelling from.
- Whether universities should open depends on student health concerns
- Whether universities should open depends on testing capacity
- Whether universities should open depends on community transmission
- Whether universities should open depends on student locations
- Whether universities should open depends on staff health concerns