In light of the global outbreak of the novel coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has issued guidance recommending that colleges and universities “consider" postponing or canceling foreign exchange programs and asking students on study abroad programs to return to the United States.
The
guidance for the higher education community, issued Sunday, was the first for higher education community posted by the CDC.
“The COVID-19 situation is dynamic," that guidance stated. “Given the speed of spread and the number of countries experiencing human-to-human transmission, IHEs should evaluate the risks associated with choosing to maintain programs abroad and take the appropriate proactive measures."
The CDC followed that up Monday evening with
interim guidance for campuses in the United States.
“Through collaboration and coordination with local health departments, IHE (Institutions of Higher Education) should disseminate information about the disease and its potential transmission to their students, staff, and faculty," the interim guidance for U.S. campuses said. “IHE should prepare to prevent the spread of COVID-19 among their students, staff, and faculty should local health officials identify such a need."
That interim guidance for campuses also stressed that plans should be “designed to minimize disruption to teaching and learning and protect students and staff from social stigma and discrimination."
Federal health officials last week had
urged all Americans to start preparing for the possibility that more aggressive measures might be needed to stop the spread of COVID-19. The warning came in response to outbreaks of the virus outside China, including in Iran, Japan, South Korea, Italy, Israel, and Brazil, which officials say have raised the likelihood the virus will spread further in the United States.
In response to these latest outbreaks and even before the CDC guidance for higher education, colleges and universities—which have been on the
front line of response since January—already have
expanded their recall of students and faculty from overseas programs and canceled more upcoming trips due to the outbreak. Others are
migrating online-only to manage the potential spread. The State Department upgraded its
warning against travel to China to the highest level in late January, and added parts of
Italy and
South Korea to level 4 status over the weekend.
Efforts Intensify on U.S. Campuses
As
The Chronicle of Higher Education reported last week, colleges are readying communications plans, cautioning students to use preventive health measures, and even preparing for possible college closures. The mantra across the board seems to be it’s not a question of if this will happen, but when.
A piece in
Inside Higher Ed this morning looked at how the spread of coronavirus in California, Oregon, and Washington has triggered student quarantines and other measures to contain the virus.
The Washington Post took a deeper look at Kirkland, Washington, where 17 nursing students and four faculty and staff members from Lake Washington Institute of Technology were exposed to the virus at a nursing home last week, prompting the college to close its 7,000-student campus through Tuesday to disinfect the school out of “an abundance of caution.”
On another front, the National College Players Association is
calling on the NCAA to consider holding NCAA March Madness tournament games without fans due to its concern over coronavirus. The NCAA has posted a
statement on its website saying that it is “taking concerted steps to maintain the first-rate delivery of NCAA championship experiences for student-athletes, team personnel and fans.”
Department of Education Task Force and Other Resources for Institutions
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced last week that her agency is creating a task force to prepare for the possible impacts of the coronavirus. DeVos made the announcement during her appearance before the appropriations committee of the U.S. House of Representatives to discuss the Trump administration's proposed budget. Mitchell Zais, the deputy secretary, will lead the overall task force, and Robert King, assistant secretary, will take point on higher education issues, including federal student aid. The Education Department has released
guidance for K-12 schools, but nothing yet for higher education.
Some individual state and local departments of health also have issued guidance for institutions of higher education (see
California,
Virginia,
Washington State,
Ohio, and
New York City). The American College Health Association also has a good
resource page that is tracking developments and issuing guidelines, including the brief “2019 Novel Coronavirus: What Campuses Need to Know.”