Rising Anxiety, Virtual Experience, & the Turkey Dump: Eduvation Insider, May 21

Today, let’s take a look at mental health, permanent WFH, guidelines for safely reopening campus, and some interesting ideas from down south: fall terms that start and end early, multi-modal courses, executive pay cuts and virtual experiential learning. 

We’ve also got four more Canadian institutions planning an online or blended fall term, and a thought-provoking report from Melbourne that explores the fiercely competitive post-COVID world…

Mental Wellness

Mental Health in a Pandemic

A survey of 1,800 Canadian adults (Apr 22-28) found they reported more than double the level of pre-COVID anxiety (61%) and depression (33%), while a third reported less access to mental health supports. (The increase was sharpest in Atlantic Canada and Ontario.) The economic downturn and job loss had more impact on mental health than the possibility of catching COVID19. Respondents reported negative effects of social media and daily pandemic news (sorry!), and positive effects of reading fiction, pets, entertainment and (fourthly) exercise. (And those with children were more likely to increase their consumption of alcohol and illegal drugs!) MHRC

Silicon Valley will Keep WFH’ing

Some Canadians in the MHRC survey found WFH a positive influence on their mental health. A number of tech giants have started to announce that the majority of their employees can continue to work from home, post-pandemic. Amazon, Microsoft and Slack employees can WFH until at least October, Google, Facebook and Zillow employees until the end of the year. Most Twitter employees will now be allowed to WFH permanently. Forbes

Looking Southward

Guidance for Healthier Campuses

The CDC has issued guidance for US colleges to maintain healthier campus environments through social distancing, increased disinfection, staggered use of common areas (or better yet, closing them), new food service protocols (grab & go meals and disposable utensils), and WFH for as many staff and faculty as possible. They recommend face masks wherever feasible, and 6-foot distancing between seats in classrooms and on school transit. CDC

Clearing Out by (American) Thanksgiving

Hundreds of US institutions have insisted they will return to on-campus classes in August, but epidemiologists predict a second, larger pandemic wave or “a storm of wavelets.” Houston’s Rice U will end the fall term in November, a month early. Regis U, Notre Dame, Marquette, Purdue, USC, UCSD and Creighton U will also end the fall semester early, in some cases by starting 2 weeks earlier in August, and skipping the fall break. (Break travel is particularly risky behaviour in a pandemic.) Chronicle  |  IHE  |  WP

“Multi-Modal” Delivery in Oklahoma

Oklahoma’s Tulsa Community College has announced that 80% of its courses this fall will be offered to students in four formats: online, online live, blended, and face-to-face. (Yet another example that sounds a lot like hyflex delivery.) It is not clear whether students will need to decide on a delivery mode in advance, or will have ongoing flexibility.  TCC

Experiential Goes Virtual

Experiential learning has become increasingly central to college and university programs, and in the migration to online delivery, it is critical to integrate project- and problem-based activities. If possible, persuade community partners to adapt service learning and community-based research to a virtual environment. Crowdsource client-based projects for online courses, perhaps through platforms like Riipen, VolunteerMatch or AllforGood. Have students contribute to the development of OER resources, easing the workload for faculty. Incorporate experiential opportunities into major maps. EAB

Looking Even Further South

Taking a Pay Cut Down Under

70% of Australian university executives have accepted salary reductions, most often of 20%, to help balance post-COVID19 budgets. Often the savings are redirected to student hardship funds. THE

Fierce Global Competition 

A discussion paper from uMelbourne predicts a post-COVID world in which students are less willing to travel because of growing nationalism, geopolitical tensions, and perceptions of personal safety. Competition for international students will become “even more fierce,” and institutions “will need to consider what a domestic focus looks like.” Australian institutions offering synchronous online learning will have the advantage of sharing a time zone with Asia, although that region may grow its own capacity and become competitors. The paper speculates about a two-tier system of teaching universities, mergers and even closures. With university layoffs and furloughs, and fewer tenure-track positions, the next generation of academic superstars may even opt to go freelance. uMelbourne

Campus Updates

Briercrest College & Seminary announced yesterday it “is preparing for either a robust offering of online courses only, or if the conditions permit, a blended model of small classes, in a socially distanced return to campus.” More details Jun 1.  BCS

Dalhousie announced yesterday that “the fall term will be predominantly online, with limited exceptions based on those programs where extensive experiential learning forms part of the curriculum (i.e. medicine, dentistry, select health professions, agriculture) and these can be provided safely in adherence to health protocols.” Full courses will not resume on campus before Jan 2021. More details in June. Dal

uLaval has cancelled all international student mobility stays for the fall, and the hosting of international students on exchange, with some exceptions. Many international partner universities have also suspended their exchanges this fall. Laval

Okanagan College announced yesterday that this fall, “most students can expect programs to be delivered in either a fully online or a hybrid format.” Details will be released when course registration begins Jul 7. For a return to campus, OC is assuming routine daily screening for all staff and students, and frequent environmental cleaning. OC

Red River College announced yesterday that it will deliver programs this fall through a “cautious, but agile” online delivery. Planning is also underway to “quickly pivot” should conditions allow some courses on campus. RRC

uRegina is selling its presidential residence, bought in 1991 and assessed at $875,100, saving $100,000 in annual costs and generating funds for students. CBC

StFX and Sports & Entertainment Atlantic are “exploring the potential of Esports as a competitive gaming program” by surveying university students in Atlantic Canada. StFX

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Ken Steele is Canada's leading higher ed futurist and strategic consultant, through his company Eduvation. He delivers virtual presentations and facilitates virtual retreats or workshops centred on emerging trends, enrolment management, pedagogical innovation, and strategic planning. [email protected]