# Universities and the Coronavirus **URL:** \ **Category:** The Quarantine Zone\ **Tags:** covid-quarantine\ **Created:** [April 14, 2020, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803 "2020-04-14T23:10:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803/21 "2020-04-15T23:36:55Z")
> [@Velocity](#): > > Hope this pandemic will finally force universities like Duke and Harvard to stop charging those rapacious $40,000 a year costs. It’s $75k-ish\* not 40. But people line up to pay it. It may be a rough few years, but that’s what a $40B endowment is for. \*unless your household income is under $200k, when it starts to scale down pretty reasonably. I have no idea why it makes people mad that private colleges charge rich people lots of money. These kids graduated from private high schools that coat $50k/year, but no one gets mad about that. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803/22 "2020-04-15T23:38:03Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > For an 18 year old who wants the full university experience, it seems to me that waiting a year or two seems a better strategy, and hope things return to normal… Sure, if your 18 year old can support himself for a year or two with no job. How many can do that? ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [April 15, 2020, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803/23 "2020-04-15T23:51:49Z")
I’ve gone back to school (Penn State) online to get my bachelor’s degree. My classes are just differently formatted sections of the same classes taught on campus, nothing in my transcripts indicates the classes are online, I’ll eventually graduate (on campus) which the exact same degree and diploma as an on campus student. Sent from my SM-G975U using Tapatalk ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 1:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803/24 "2020-04-16T01:43:38Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > One major function of a university _with a campus_ is to offer the"college experience". > Not all students want this,and they can do fine at a community college, living at home with their parents. > But if I had a child graduating from high school this year, I would not send him “off to college” in September. > > I’m referring to one certain type of student: > The one who wants to go to a four-year university, away from home, living in the dorms (“residence halls” for you Brits and Canadians) ,and having the stereotypical American “college experience”, on a big leafy campus. > The kind of student for whom the process of choosing which university to attend involved making a family trip to visit the campus. > And-most importantly–the kind of student who expects that much of success in his education will come not just from the classroom,but also from socializing (and towards graduation,networking) with other students and professors. > > The world has changed due to the virus, and the universities are trying to adapt,too. But I think that much is being lost unfortunately. > > I have just participated in a family reunion using Zoom software, and it was NOT the same as previous years. Seeing 15 people split over 7 windows on the screen is awkward.Conversation did not flow naturally, body language and facial expressions were lost. We had to swipe across the screen to enlarge the face of who was speaking, and often missed the first few words as you tried to identify who was talking to whom. I can’t imagine using Zoom to do one of my old college discussion sections on Shakespeare. > > For an 18 year old who wants the full university experience, it seems to me that waiting a year or two seems a better strategy, and hope things return to normal. Otherwise, you are beginning a process that may cost a hundred thousand dollars, but may not provide the benefits which makes the expense worthwhile. That was me and yes, I’d be pushing a gap year hard right now I was a high school senior. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803/25 "2020-04-16T04:32:00Z")
> [@chappachula](#): > > One major function of a university _with a campus_ is to offer the"college experience". > Not all students want this,and they can do fine at a community college, living at home with their parents. > But if I had a child graduating from high school this year, I would not send him “off to college” in September. > > I’m referring to one certain type of student: > The one who wants to go to a four-year university, away from home, living in the dorms (“residence halls” for you Brits and Canadians) ,and having the stereotypical American “college experience”, on a big leafy campus. > The kind of student for whom the process of choosing which university to attend involved making a family trip to visit the campus. > And-most importantly–the kind of student who expects that much of success in his education will come not just from the classroom,but also from socializing (and towards graduation,networking) with other students and professors. > > The world has changed due to the virus, and the universities are trying to adapt,too. But I think that much is being lost unfortunately. > > I have just participated in a family reunion using Zoom software, and it was NOT the same as previous years. Seeing 15 people split over 7 windows on the screen is awkward.Conversation did not flow naturally, body language and facial expressions were lost. We had to swipe across the screen to enlarge the face of who was speaking, and often missed the first few words as you tried to identify who was talking to whom. I can’t imagine using Zoom to do one of my old college discussion sections on Shakespeare. > > For an 18 year old who wants the full university experience, it seems to me that waiting a year or two seems a better strategy, and hope things return to normal. Otherwise, you are beginning a process that may cost a hundred thousand dollars, but may not provide the benefits which makes the expense worthwhile. That was me and yes, I’d be pushing a gap year hard right now I was a high school senior. ---
**Author:** ![syncrolecyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@syncrolecyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/syncrolecyne)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803/26 "2020-04-16T06:27:21Z")
My experience is as a professor in a regional state school in Texas. Many students are commuters, and most live at home (or are moving back in due to closure of dorms or job losses). So far, it has been a struggle to keep the courses going. As there is now a pass-fail option, a number of students have ceased to work in the class. Many online course platforms are designed for the “desktop era” even though many of the younger college students today only have a tablet or a phone. Or if they have a laptop, it is a Chromebook with limited functions. The family desktop has gone the way of the landline phone in many households. Texas and some other states are heavily dependent on oil and gas revenue. That was in free fall even before the weight of the COVID-19 pandemic became clear. The budget will be ugly for a while. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 16, 2020, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803/27 "2020-04-16T14:31:32Z")
Some university courses (far too many) are basically “read the textbook or course notes” and get quizzed on them. These do not tend to be great courses, although the best courses are those where the notes reflect the experience of the teacher and could not really be found in any textbook or anywhere else. I don’t do a lot of online learning, but looked at some of the courses offered. A positive psychology course was simple and somewhat interesting, but maybe not at the highest level. Learning a language well involves conversation, and I’d imagine it is hard to give enough individual attention over the interwebs since this is often done in groups. Certain aspects of drama or math could be done electronically. But if all you are doing is reading a book or average notes one might not think this worth high fees. Even watching TV, shows done by hosts from home (such as The Daily Show or A Late Show) have a markedly different character. More intimate, and sometimes interesting, but certainly more unpolished and a little harder to watch. I’m not sure if this is because it differs from expectations, is genuinely worse, is related to technical issues, means less reliance on writers who can’t workshop stuff in the same way, or due to the missing psychological effects of a big background band and audience laughter. In many classes, a lot is learned from classmates. That said, which courses work best over electronic media? Which ones don’t work as well? Are some things untraceable - I can’t imagine online anatomy lab being the same although have often been surprised by the high quality of a few courses. ---
**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803/28 "2020-04-19T23:05:33Z")
Here is a decent article from The Antlantic which summarizes things needed to do a good job of online teaching, based on the experiences of twelve teachers. But this is below university level, and emphasizes peer-to-peer and technical help, the ability to bend the rules, ensuring adequate Internet access and supplementing low income students. > **[What Teachers Need to Make Remote Schooling Work](https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2020/04/how-remote-school-can-work-covid-19-pandemic/609895/)** > > The coronavirus pandemic is increasing academic gaps, and educators are scrambling to reduce them. ---
**Author:** ![MulderMuffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldermuffin/32/2862_2.png) [@MulderMuffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MulderMuffin)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803/29 "2020-04-20T15:22:39Z")
What I worry about, having two children in college right now, is that if they don’t return to school as expected next semester their student loans will become a problem. As I understand it, there is a six-month deferment period after they leave school (either graduate or quit, but presumably a gap semester or year would encompass “leaving school”), and then monthly payments become due. I seriously doubt they’ll be able to find jobs that will cover the loan payments in the near future. ---
**Author:** ![MandaJo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ac91a4/32.png) [@MandaJo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MandaJo)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2020, 5:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803/30 "2020-04-24T17:23:59Z")
Bumping this because there has been an interesting development. Typically, schools.pill off their waitlist after May first, and most don’t go deep. But lots and lots of highly selective schools, from Cornell to UChicago to Tufts–among several others–are starting to call kids on the waitlist. But the ones they are calling seem to be overwhelmingly domestic, full pay kids. So it may be they are anticipating low yields, or it may be they are expanding the freshman class to increase revenue ---
**Author:** ![Hari\_Seldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hari_seldon/32/5173_2.png) [@Hari\_Seldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hari_Seldon)\ **Post date:** [April 26, 2020, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803/31 "2020-04-26T00:33:55Z")
Of my three college-age grandchildren, one is just finishing HS and is expecting to study jazz performance starting in the fall. While other courses could be online, I don’t see how a performance course could be online. The next is finishing his junior year and was basically told not to come back after spring break. He is in engineering and I have no idea how that will work. But he is finishing his courses from this term online from home. The third is graduating this term and is just now emptying her dorm and UPSing it back home. I guess she will get her degree, but the intermship she had arranged for the summer seems off. She wants to write comedy (seriously). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/universities-and-the-coronavirus/851803.md?page=1)