Fall and face masks at WVU?
With reduced student density, school-issued protective equipment and other precautions, West Virginia University officials are “envisioning” the return of in-person instruction this fall, and trustees voted to freeze tuition and fees for 2020-21.
University leaders Friday afternoon did not rule out other options amid the pandemic, including online instruction, and acknowledged COVID-19 will be a factor into the fall and beyond. However, officials suggested the main thrust as the university approaches a final decision is on bringing WVU’s nearly 30,000 students back for fall to its Morgantown and branch locations.
“We are now engaged in our deep-dive contingency planning for fall,” Provost Maryanne Reed said as school trustees met.
Universities nationally and in Pennsylvania have issued cautious statements in recent days about the fall, saying administrators would decide between online, in-person or hybrid scenarios by late May or early June.
Semantics matter, as those who work with students including incoming freshmen say many are wary of paying university prices for something other than a residential campus experience. But officials also are beholden to infection projections and public health worries should a second wave of infections add to more than 63,000 deaths reported nationally.
May 1 is the traditional date for students to declare their college choice, but many schools that operate off that date — others do not use it — have opted to extend it given family job losses and other pandemic-related worries.
Officials did not specify what it would cost WVU to provide protective equipment across its sprawling main campus and branches, or if masks would be required during classes, in residence halls and in public spaces on the land-grant university’s main campus, including the Mountainlair student union.
The statement did not address prospects for intercollegiate athletics including Mountaineer football.
In a statement, President E. Gordon Gee said, “We have every hope and expectation of safely resuming in-person education in
Morgantown, Beckley and Keyser for the fall semester. ... The safety and well-being of students, faculty and staff, as well as the community will drive decisions, but we believe it will be possible to restart classes on campus, albeit with new measures, guidelines and precautions to inhibit the spread of COVID-19.”
Ms. Reed’s statement noted, “We also know that the COVID-19 pandemic will still be with us through the fall — and possibly next spring — and so we also must be prepared to respond should there be another surge of the virus that interrupts instruction and other campus activities.”
Tuition and university fees for in-state students will remain at $8,976 per year; nonresident university tuition and fees stay at $25,320.
In Pennsylvania, the State System of Higher Education on Wednesday announced a tuition freeze at its 14 state-owned universities for 2020-21.
Penn State University’s president Eric Barron said he will recommend a freeze, and University of Pittsburgh Chancellor Patrick Gallagher said it would be hard to envision a price hike at his school. Penn State and Pitt officials said they are exploring fall options.
WVU officials expressed relative optimism about enrollment Friday.
“The number of fall registrations is down just slightly from last year, which is not surprising given that we start fall registration two weeks later than usual. The number of freshmen and sophomores who requested transcripts be sent to other institutions — a key indicator of the desire to transfer — was 20% lower than last year,” Ms. Reed said.