FOR BREAKING NEWS VISIT WWW.QNS.COM MAY 21, 2020 • KIDS & EDUCATION • THE QUEENS COURIER 35
kids & education
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Universities across New York City
brace for new realities during COVID-19
BY KEVIN DUGGAN
editorial@qns.com
@QNS
Th ird-level education institutions and
their students in New York City face a lot
of uncertainty as the pandemic is slated to
continue into the summer and is almost
certainly going to aff ect the fall semester.
As colleges and universities wrap up an
unprecedented spring semester that was
forced to move remotely as of March, faculty
and administrative staff are working
to create ways to continue education and
research in September.
“I know none of you signed up for this, but
you should all be proud of the strength you
have shown,” said Félix V. Matos Rodríguez,
chancellor of the City University of New
York in a May 11 message.
Th e City University of New York has
been grappling with the health crisis ever
since it closed down its 25 campuses
across the fi ve boroughs and has moved
all its classes online for its 275,000 students.
CUNY leaders have decided to move all
summer classes online, but are still awaiting
guidance from the state’s Education
Department on how to proceed for the
fall. Private universities in the city have
been more emphatic about reopening
fully in the fall, likely fearing a drop in
applications, but to what extent they will
do that depends on the institution.
Consultant fi rm McKinsey — which
Governor Andrew Cuomo tapped to
develop an economic reopening plan for
the state — in April released a fi ve-point
plan for institutions on how to operate
remotely in the coming months. Th e
plans focus on allowing all students and
staff access to the technology they need
to learn remotely, including laptops and a
good internet connection, as well as other
services that universities provide such as
food, housing and mental health services.
Remote learning has exposed a digital
divide between wealthier and lower-income
students, with well-heeled pupils
more likely to have laptops, a good WiFi
connection, and other gadgets to help
learn via the web. Universities need to nip
these challenges in the bud, according to a
Harvard Business Review report.
Th e institutions should also help staff
learn about the new technology in the
summer months with boot camps, IT
support and cyber defense so that the
new digital infrastructure works across
the board and is safe for all who use it,
according to McKinsey consultants.
Th e McKinsey report urges colleges to
maintain student life and campus communities
outside of the classroom with
online events, discussions and other virtual
gatherings that could be organized
through an online student center. NYU
has already launched a series of virtual
events to help incoming students connect
with the university’s community, including
virtual tours of its campuses and Ask
Me Anything sessions with current students
via Instagram.
Using online platforms like Zoom has
already allowed teachers to host classes
with students scattered in diff erent time
zones.
Some lecturers at NYU have become
more creative with their online classes,
like one teacher who used the social
media platform TikTok as a teaching aid.
University education faces many challenges
and disruptions in the coming
months and years, but college leaders are
working hard to forge the path that lies
ahead. “As disjointed as this moment has
come to feel, as fi lled as it is with deep
uncertainties, we must move forward,”
said the president of Columbia University,
Lee Bollinger, in a May 14 statement.
“Th is has been a spring for the ages, and
my deepest hope is that the goodwill and
collective eff ort manifested in this crisis
will continue to sustain us in the months
and years ahead.”
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