ASU is testing its reputation for innovation
Arizona State University has reversed itself, evidently deciding that it’s our business, after all, to know whether the school is becoming an incubator of infectious disease.
President Michael Crow, who previously declined to release any information citing the need for “privacy,” on Tuesday disclosed that 161 students and employees have tested positive since classes began the week before.
That’s on all four campuses and represents an infection rate of less than 1% of the nearly 32,000 people tested.
Then, ASU quietly released updated numbers late Friday night, reporting 480 known positive COVID-19 cases
across its four campuses out of nearly 37,149 people who either have been tested at the university or submitted test results.
Crow announced the university will be cracking down on partiers and that there will be a heavy emphasis on testing in the coming weeks and months “to create a current picture of what is happening with the virus within our community.”
That picture should be shared with the community.
Other universities are doing it. “Texas A&M University understands the importance of COVID-19 testing and the critical nature of sharing the data with the Aggieland community,” it says, on a dashboard that reports the number of new cases along with weekly test results.
The University of Alabama is reporting both test results broken down by campus and the occupancy rate of isolation spaces set up for quarantined students.
Cornell University’s dashboard is updated daily and includes a color-coded threat level system tied to five key metrics. Get to red and campus will be shut down.
Notre Dame keeps its community posted. So does the University of Miami, Ohio State University and the University of Illinois.
The University of North Carolina has a detailed dashboard, identifying not only how many people have contracted COVID but the dorms where clusters have been found.
As it says at the top of its dashboard:
“The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill believes everyone in our community deserves equal access to information.”
Arizona State University should believe it as well. So, by the way, should the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University.
None of the three schools are being transparent, though UA does, at least, release a daily case count.
The reach of these universities doesn’t stop at their borders. What happens on campus is of natural concern both to parents and to those in the surrounding communities that are working to get control of this highly contagious virus.
So while it’s good that Crow finally, reluctantly disclosed what should have been public information all along — the number of people who have tested positive — it would be even better if he opened the windows wide. Unfortunately, Crow is promising only an occasional, limited peek behind the curtain.
“I know there has been and will continue to be interest in this number,” he wrote, of the case count. “What I am committing to are regular updates about our COVID management strategy.”
Dr. Crow, take a look at what other universities are doing.
ASU touts itself as “No. 1 for innovation in the US.”
Here’s a chance to prove it.
The reach of these universities doesn’t stop at their borders.