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So I have a few, perhaps poorly formed and unwelcome, thoughts. Obviously the author raises pertinent and important questions. I hate to firehose, but I think the piece significantly understates some of the human and logistical challenges. A long thread, with apologies. 1/n https://twitter.com/UA_magazine/status/1248606659238297601
I should say first of all that the assertion that university leaders are solely focused on crisis management is just not accurate from what I’ve seen: there’s a lot of hard thinking going on now about 2020-21, which is a good thing. But we’re a long way from good answers. 2/n
Second, we can subscribe wholeheartedly to the view that the on-campus experience is vitally important to students, and still think that we should hold off past September; as the author emphasizes, the possibility of a second wave is very real. Safety first, say I. 3/n
It’s also possible to agree with the author that online learning is not a great substitute for the on-campus experience, yet believe that in the circumstances, it may still be the best alternative come September (health and safety again). Most Cdn governments are going slow. 4/n
As @AlexUsherHESA and others have repeatedly pointed out, what’s been done this term is not true “online education” but a patchwork quilt of emergency stopgaps. Do we have the political will to create much better options for September? We can hope so, but it’s not guaranteed. 5/n
But the big thing is that a potential second wave will loom large in the thinking of senior administrators and faculty unions: who wants to become the “Herron old-age home of Canada’s universities”? That’s right, no one, and quite right too. So first, let’s do no harm. 6/n
In practice, that means calling into question many of the the solutions proposed in this piece. Cut residence capacity? Remodel lecture theatres to accommodate small classes? Limiting groups to 50 students? I can’t see this happening, even in an ideal world. Cost is huge. 7/n
To see why this is so, consider the following: sure, at full capacity, residences make money for universities, but most doesn’t normally go to the bottom line: it gets ploughed back into staff salaries, maintenance costs and student support. 8/n
As for classrooms? Almost all unis operate at or near full practical capacity: halving that will pose impossible problems that can be resolved only by — you guessed it — moving instruction online, the very thing we were trying to avoid. So: rent space? How? Even then… 9/n
This paragraph just has me shaking my head. Universities might better ask how to can launch in the full knowledge that a second wave is possible and that no university is remotely equipped to deal with it except by — once again — going online and kicking students out. 10/n
The author concludes that universities should reopen because if they stay online, “enrolments will go down, making a bad financial situation worse”. Sorry, but it simply cannot be about money: the safety and well-being of students, faculty, and staff have to be paramount. 11/n
“Preparing for the worst” cannot simply mean reopening campuses with contingency plans in place, though you can bet that risk management planning has taken on a whole new meaning for many! It may mean deferring reopening until January 2021. September may be too perilous. 12/n
Lots of questions not considered. How do we approach the recruitment cycle? What about international recruitment? What about the possibility that travel and visas may still be restricted, not just internationally but domestically? What about renovations to facilities? 13/n
What about labs and studios, also at capacity in most institutions? How about internships, WIL, student placements, exchange programmes and the like? How do we manage athletics and recreation? 14/15
I understand how eager everyone is to get back to normal, but let’s avoid the temptation to restart without thinking through these and other human and logistical issues completely, and above all, let’s make health and safety our top priority. OK, done. Fire when ready. /finis
