Page 50 - Education World July 2020

International News

UNITED STATES ering the full range of academic and administrative needs
Digital education urgency — demands dedicated commitment, says Paul LeBlanc,

president of Southern New Hampshire University, whose
140,000-student operation is almost entirely remote. “To
do online well, and to mount a major effort, requires in-
vestment at the precise moment that they don’t have the
resources,” says LeBlanc, a leading expert being besieged
by other institutions for advice.
One of the most serious threats to US universities un-
der financial stress is potential loss of accreditation, which
the US Education Department requires for an institution’s
students to be eligible for federal loans and grants. The
department has been waiving or extending many accred-
itation-related deadlines and requirements for in-person
instruction, and accrediting agencies whose judgement it
officially recognises have been postponing inspection visits
or conducting some aspects remotely.
Harvard University students: greater online options But according to Dr. Eaton, it isn’t clear how strictly ac-
creditors will treat online programmes that, by the autumn
WHILE PUBLICLY DANGLING possibilities and are set to remain little more than teachers talking to their
preparations for campus reopenings, US colleges students over Zoom and similar platforms.
must keep a serious internal focus on strengthen-
ing their remote learning options, advises their chief quality EUROPE
assurance advocate. US colleges seem to be making good Cautious re-opening plans
progress towards online proficiency, says Judith Eaton,
president of the Council for Higher Education Accredita- IRST-YEAR STUDENTS ARE SET TO BE A priority
tion. “This is an opportunity to develop. From my perspec- across Europe when campuses tentatively reopen in
tive, there are several things that need to be addressed as Fautumn (September), to avoid an increase in dropout
we’re going forward.” This observation was made against rates — but low reliance on tuition fees means there is less
the backdrop of a small but growing number of US colleges pressure to restart in-person teaching for some continental
and universities having already acknowledged that they will institutions.
spend at least part of the fall semester without students on There is a patchwork of different approaches across
campus. the continent. German universities do not expect physical
Yet even as medical professionals have expressed scepti- lectures to resume until 2021, but some countries, such as
cism about the safety of holding large gatherings in coming Denmark, hope to open almost as normal come the new
months, the majority of institutions have been putting em- academic year. Dutch universities have been among the
phasis on their ideas for reopening their campuses — with most proactive in reassuring prospective students: “Dutch
details of physical distancing and facilities for disinfection universities are open,” the Association of Universities in the
— than on their strategies for improving the online educa- Netherlands stressed in May.
tional experience. In reopening, European universities are freer to remain
In a conference call with Mike Pence, the US vice presi- cautious and to be honest with prospective students because
dent, and Betsy DeVos, the US education secretary, several they are far less dependent on tuition fees, some institu-
university presidents reportedly expressed hope of legal tional leaders told Ti m es H i gher E duc ati on. “We will not
protection in the likely event that their reopened campuses go as far as certain US universities,” says Prof. Robert-Jan
spread coronavirus infections.“We don’t know for sure, but Smits, president of Eindhoven University of Technology. He
it’s starting to look like we’re going to need to be more reli- says he is “shocked” by some US institutions for “giving the
ant on online options in the fall,” says Eaton. impression” that student life would be “safe and normal”
For colleges, however, the urgency of resuming in-person come the autumn, because they “need the cash”.
instruction is clear. Many students have been demanding At the Sorbonne University, “we don’t depend on stu-
it and have been threatening to skip the autumn semes- dents (financially),” says Marie-Celine Daniel, the institu-
ter or to press for substantial tuition fee reductions if their tion’s vice president of education and lifelong learning. “The
only options are online. Institutions of all sizes have been responsibility we have is to be candid that their experience
warning of serious financial problems if that happens, with of Paris from September onwards is going to be disappoint-
hundreds already beginning to make salary or staffing cuts. ing” because of ongoing restrictions introduced to fight the
Yet establishing a high-quality online operation — cov- spread of the coronavirus, she adds.

50 EDUCATIONWORLD JULY 2020