Most Business Schools Still Anticipate Fully In-Person Classes
Despite the recent surge in COVID-19 cases, most of the business schools surveyed in August (78%) said they expected “close to 100%” in-person instruction during the fall semester now underway. Nineteen percent of the schools anticipated hybrid instruction split 50/50 between in-person and virtual interactions. At the same time, however, only 18% of the business schools said they expected their career center programs and activities to take place primarily in person. Thirty-three percent will only offer those services online, while the rest will offer a hybrid mix. “In an analysis of the top 100 ranked U.S. schools and several from Europe, Poets&Quants found in July that all have announced plans to open for in-person instruction when their full-time MBA students arrive” in August and September.
Source: Poets & Quants
The Number of College Transfer Students Fell More than 190,000 Last Year
A new report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center estimates that the nation’s colleges and universities enrolled about 191,500 fewer transfer students between July 2020 and June 2021, nearly triple the size of the decline reported just one year earlier. The trend was apparent in most major categories. “Lateral transfers between two-year colleges or between four-year institutions fell by 11.9% and account for 60% of the total decline in transfer enrollment. Transfer enrollment between two-year institutions dropped more steeply than transfer enrollment between four-year institutions — 15.2% and 7.5%, respectively. Reverse transfers from four-year to two-year institutions also took a hit, decreasing by 16.2%.”
Source: Inside Higher Ed
Pfizer’s FDA Approval Inspires More Campus Vaccine Mandates
“Scores” of colleges and universities are finalizing plans to mandate vaccinations in the wake of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision to give its full approval to Pfizer’s BioNTech shot for older teens and adults. The University of Louisiana System, University of Minnesota, and Oakland University are among the schools that are either implementing new vaccine requirements or toughening existing protocols. Oakland University, for example, just announced that all students and employees must now be vaccinated. Previously, the mandate only affected dorm residents. “Several community colleges in California are also adding vaccine requirements, after some of them said they were awaiting FDA approval… The full approval could also give colleges more leeway to add mandates in states that banned schools from requiring vaccines distributed under the FDA’s Emergency Use Authorization.”
Source: Higher Ed Dive
Nearly All Students Think Online Classes Cost Too Much
Although most recently surveyed college students (69%) said flexibility regarding attendance and coursework is critically important, almost all of them (94%) believe that online courses should cost less than in-person instruction. Fewer than half of administrators (43%) and faculty (41%) said they think their institutions should charge less for online classes. “While online offerings are expected to increase options for students in the near future, today, they are raising questions about the value of education. Already under scrutiny before the pandemic, tuition costs have become a source of strain between students and institutions.”
Source: eCampus News