As the spread of COVID-19 continues to intensify, most colleges and universities, including FSU, have decided to hold all summer classes online. Will life be back to normal by the fall semester, or will students have to wait until 2021 or later to resume in-person classes? While some may continue studying during another digital semester, it’s likely that many students, especially incoming freshmen, may take the semester off.
The future remains uncertain, as there is no way to accurately predict the trajectory of the virus. Currently, experts don’t know when life will be back to normal. The only things we have to rely on are their “best guesses.” According to Business Insider, they predict “that, in some places, we will be able to begin to safely relax some restrictions in May or June. But life may not return to ‘normal normal’ until 2021.” The CDC, on the other hand, warns us about an even worse wave of the virus next flu season.
If in-person classes do resume in the fall, things won’t be the same as they were before. Campus life will have to be reevaluated completely. During a normal semester, college students gather in classrooms, dining halls, libraries and bars every day. Not to mention the thousands of students packing together at sporting and other campus events. Each university will probably establish extreme precautionary measures to avoid an outbreak on campus, especially if our country is faced with another wave of the virus. These precautionary measures may include limited class sizes, revised dining procedures, closed amenities and audience-less football games.
Financially, it’s in every school’s best interest to hold in-person classes during the fall semester. According to NPR, some larger universities risk losing one billion dollars during this crisis. Adding another digital semester would result in an even greater financial detriment. While FSU has not made a statement on the matter, a lot of schools have already addressed their plans for the fall. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, most universities are “leaning toward in-person classes.” Some schools, like California State University at Fullerton, have already decided to hold classes online in the fall semester. While many schools hope to open in the fall, most universities aren’t expected to make official decisions until the trajectory of the virus is more certain.
The transition to digital learning has been difficult for students across the country. It’s hard to look forward to an entire semester taking online classes at home. Even though everyone would prefer in-person classes, will anything be the same without the things that make college feel like college? If one thing is for certain, it’s that the fall semester isn’t going to be normal and the next few months aren’t going to be a smooth ride. But, we can’t expect anything to be normal in the midst of a global pandemic – we are experiencing something that could change the world forever.
Definite decisions will not be made until more information becomes available on COVID-19. Stay updated and stay safe!
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