CT Lays Out College Reopening Plan Amid Coronavirus Concerns

CONNECTICUT — A task force group had laid out the plan to gradually reopen colleges across the state with the hope that residential colleges could fully reopen in the fall if the coronavirus situation permits.

Statewide hospitalizations dropped by 55 patients Wednesday after a single day increase. Gov. Ned Lamont said he hopes Tuesday’s higher number was just a one-day blip. There were another 85 coronavirus-related deaths and 374 positive cases out of 2,804 tests.

“The percentage of testing positive has gone down, so I consider that a good sign, but for me it’s not as key an indicator [as hospitalizations],” Lamont said.

The business reopening plan that starts on May 20 is still intact.

The task force recommends giving higher education institutions discretion to gradually reopen campuses over the summer based on educational programs offered and whether they provide residential services. There are about 190,000 students enrolled in higher education in Connecticut and the industry employs roughly 45,000 people.

The report recommends allowing campuses to fully reopen in the fall if the coronavirus situation permits, but to give institutions discretion on when certain programs can restart.

“Our colleges and universities are the springboard for so many to launch their careers, and they are an economic engine of the state,” Lamont said.. “And of course it can’t go without saying that Connecticut’s great research universities are working to help bring an end to the current pandemic.”

The proposed timeline is as follows:

• May 20: Research programs and administrative functions can resume at colleges.
• Early summer: Workforce development programs at places like community colleges can reopen. Students who weren’t able to complete, lab, studio, clinical or shop requirements in the spring will also be welcomed back.
• Mid-July: Non-residential education programs can reopen if public health conditions improve. Some institutions can resume graduate programs. A few summer programs involving undergraduate students in residential settings can be piloted.
• Fall: Undergraduate residential institutions can reopen if they choose assuming health conditions allow for it.

The timeline is dependent on several conditions, including institutions housing students to have enough COVID-19 tests to test all entering students upon arrival. Positive students would be immediately isolated. It also requires adequate contact tracing for higher educational institutions.

There also has to be plans for possible shutdowns due to a widespread statewide or campus outbreak.

However, even under a best case scenario there would still be some changes, said task force member Rick Levin, who is the former president of Yale University. Students, faculty and staff should wear masks and at least six feet of space between people should be maintained when possible.

Classes may have to be run in a hybrid fashion where a portion of coursework is done online, said Mark Ojakian, president of Connecticut State Colleges and Universities.

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Officials have been working with licensing boards in order to streamline licensing of frontline healthcare workers,Ojakian said. For healthcare students universities are working with local area hospitals to provide practical experience on an expedited basis.

Faculty and students who are at high-risk for complications from the coronavirus can be accommodated with online classes, said University of Connecticut President Thomas Katsouleas. The same would apply for international students who may not be able to physically return due to travel restrictions.

Students will have to adjust social routines in order to help limit the spread of the virus, Katsouleas said. Around UConn 1,000 students remained at campus during the spring semester because they couldn’t safely return home or were international students and there were no documented positive cases.

“While we don’t expect to have zero cases in the fall with full occupancy, we think the key to this will be the adoption of behavioral norms by the students,” Katsouleas said, adding that he had faith that students will be able to come up with ways to have active social lives while maintaining good social distancing practices.

Higher education institutions would be required to file reopening plans with the state Department of Public Health before being allowed to proceed. The plans need to include how to contain any spread of the coronavirus on campus, especially in residential areas.