California State University, the countryâs largest four-year public university system, said last week that classes at its 23 campuses will stay primarily online when the next term begins in January due to expected increases in coronavirus cases later this year.
âThis decision is the only responsible one available to us at this time,â Chancellor Timothy White said in a message to faculty, staff and 480,000 undergraduate students.
The system was among the first large U.S. universities to announce in May that most classes this fall would be online because of the pandemic. Now, less than 10% of courses like labs and other hands-on classes are being taught in person, and on-campus housing has been significantly reduced.
For students, especially those in San Francisco, the decision comes with significant pros and cons. “On one hand, I am extremely grateful â itâs very apparent as we have seen across the country, college-aged people cannot be trusted to make informed health decisions,” said Siobhán Eagen, a senior at San Francisco State University majoring in journalism.
SF State student, Siobhán Eagen sheltered in place at her campus apartment from March to May. (Courtesy of Siobhán Eagen)
Eagen said she is grateful to be part of the CSU system, but she is also heartbroken. “The place I loved myself the most is in an educational setting. I loved being in school,” she said. Her education has been important, especially as someone who faced homelessness and didnât receive much family support.
But, she’s also been able to save money, and has moved to San Diego. Eagen said her roommate is also saving money this year â and won’t have to take out loans to pay for housing in San Francisco. “It feels almost sick to look at the brightside,” she said.
Echoing Egan on the importance of health, CSU spokesperson Mike Uhlenkamp said “health and safety is the first priority,â in an interview with KQED.
Uhlenkamp said tuition will remain the same, though there are variations at each campus in regards to fees for housing and parking â which students will not need to pay, unless they are among the small percentage living on-campus.
Itâs unclear, thus far, if enrollment has significantly changed. Uhlenkamp said the CSU-Fresno campus is reporting a higher enrollment, while CSU-San Francisco has âdipped a little bit.â However, he added that across the system, theyâre expecting overall enrollment to remain the same. Across the 23 campuses, there are still some students living on campus in single rooms, and a small amount of coursework â about 7%, being done in person.
Uhlenkamp also noted that despite classes going virtual, campuses are still open and many are investing in additional software and hardware â loaning out iPads, Chromebook and WiFi spots. At some CSU’s, there are also WiFi parking lots for students to access WiFi in their car.
The decision to keep most classrooms closed for the upcoming term was made with campus presidents based on factors such as the need to publicize course offerings and enroll students for the next term as well as forecasts that infections will spike this winter, Chancellor White said.
âThe virus continues to spread. There is no vaccine and there likely will not be one widely available any time soon,â White said. âA larger wave continues to be forecast for the period between October and December, coupled with seasonal influenza; this will undoubtedly be a daunting challenge for us.â
He also cited âan insufficient testing and contact-tracing infrastructureâ as reasons for the âregrettable but necessary decisionâ to continue the next term virtually.
San Diego State University ended its limited in-class instruction recently because of a COVID-19 surge and this week locked down 2,600 students living on the campus for a week. Health officials have found more than 500 confirmed cases of the virus among students, although they say many may have been infected by off-campus activities.
California State University, Chico, also recently canceled its limited number of in-person classes and told students to leave campus housing after nearly 30 people tested positive for the coronavirus days after the semester started. The school said on its website last week that the total number of cases has risen to nearly 170.
KQED’s Julie Chang contributed to this report.
Copyright 2020 KQED