UNC-CH faculty say spring semester must be remote or COVID-19 cases will likely spike
A group of faculty members at UNC-Chapel Hill are pleading to keep the spring semester remote as the coronavirus pandemic worsens, with cases and hospitalizations rising in North Carolina and nationally.
“Given current conditions and UNC’s track record, the plans for spring are doomed to repeat too many of the failures of the fall,” faculty members wrote in an open letter to the UNC community published in The Daily Tar Heel campus newspaper on Wednesday.
They say the only ethical decision is to cancel face-to-face instruction, with some exceptions, and reserve campus housing for those who have special circumstances, according to the letter. They also argue that staff members who continue to work on campus should receive “ample, high-quality PPE and hazard pay.”
Faculty across the UNC System expressed similar fears with reopening this fall, but campuses still reopened. UNC-Chapel Hill, N.C. State and East Carolina quickly shut down when cases spiked in August. They don’t want to see that happen again.
Nearly 70 faculty signed the UNC letter that outlines why the risk is too high for more students to return to campus again.
The letter cites counts averaging 174,000 new cases daily nationally, which is more than three times higher than when UNC classes began on Aug. 10. It also talks of how COVID-19 cases on college campuses jumped in November as students were preparing to leave to go home for the holidays.
Faculty members worry cases will surge in the community, especially without a vaccine widely available by the spring semester.
“We have every reason to expect that the University will — once again — be overwhelmed by infections when classes resume,” faculty wrote. “Are Chapel Hill’s leaders ready to face that reality when it comes?”
UNC’s current spring plans
The biggest changes to UNC’s plans for the spring semester are coronavirus testing and reduced capacity for campus residence halls, with only single rooms.
UNC students, faculty and staff will be tested for COVID-19 upon returning to campus in January and must participate in regular coronavirus testing throughout the spring semester.
When the university pivoted to online classes and closed dorms when cases spiked this fall, about 1,500 students remained on campus. That included student-athletes, international students and students with financial hardships. The university plans to bring about 3,500 students back to live on campus in the spring. Some will still share suites and bathrooms.
UNC will again offer a mix of in-person and online classes, and administrators have said they want about 20 to 30% of classes to be taught in person, according to the letter. The spring semester will also start on Jan. 19, which is about two weeks later than usual.
“We are closely monitoring state and national case counts, and we are prepared to adjust our plans at any time,” UNC’s Vice Chancellor of University Communications Joel Curran said in a statement to the News & Observer.
Curran said UNC announce changes no later than Jan. 9 before on-campus residents move in, “if the conditions necessitate it.”
Part of the university’s decision-making is looking at how and where the virus spread this fall. The university saw cases spread in residence halls, off-campus apartment complexes and Greek Life houses, rather than in classrooms, dining halls, student stores or the student union.
And while UNC is working to better enforce mask-wearing and social gatherings, limiting the spread of the virus off-campus will continue to be a challenge. Curran said they’ve improved communication and enforcement to “better manage off-campus student behaviors.” An advisory committee of students, employees and community leaders has also recommended calling the rules “Pandemic Standards.”
The faculty members say they recognize that the move will intensify UNC’s financial challenges, but they are asking UNC administrators to “be courageous” and put public health first. A group of UNC faculty, graduate students and campus workers is also working on a plan to address the fiscal problems without furloughs and layoffs.
“Deciding now to go remote for the spring will allow students and their families time to plan for the spring semester,” the letter says. “It will also save lives in communities across the state and nation until the pandemic is brought under control.”
Pivoting to online is ‘not a switch’
Deb Aikat, a UNC journalism professor who signed the letter, said UNC leaders are working very hard but are not trained in leading during a pandemic. He said he isn’t sure their leadership has been effective thus far and they can’t have “Pollyanna perspectives” or “toxic positivity.”
“We are hoping for the best, but we have to be prepared for the worst, and I’m afraid we are not prepared,” Aikat said.
He said the university learned its lesson in the fall and is now doing more testing and contact tracing, but outbreaks of cases, hospitalizations and deaths are soaring.
“If things are worse, wouldn’t you take care of the campus community?” Aikat said. “Why would you have any other reason beyond public health to decide on this?”
Aikat said faculty members want to get back on campus teaching in-person, but it’s not safe given the circumstances.
“The campus is a very concentrated group of people … and we have known for these younger people to have behaviors that lead to infection,” Aikat said.
Leaders have said their plans aim to ensure a successful spring semester on campus without a sudden change, but nothing is guaranteed.
Aikat said pivoting may be an easy word, but it has expensive costs and the process gravely affects students’ mental health, housing and academic performance. It also takes a toll on professors who have to quickly adjust their plans and lessons.
“Pivoting is not a switch,” Aikat said.
This story was originally published December 2, 2020 at 11:41 AM.
