My daughter will not be returning to school this fall

We learned yesterday that the university my youngest daughter has been at the last two years will not be having students on campus this fall.  The whole world is still in flux and I think there is a good chance things will change at least once in the next couple months, and maybe a couple times.

There are a number of movements or changes in our society which seem kind of sudden, but in looking back you can see hints leading up to the change.  Little changes keep adding up until there is a tipping point and BOOM!!!  Then the world shifts and life is different.

Post-pandemic, four-year colleges need to change — or face extinction talks about this. The article points out that because of the Coronavirus lots of parents and students are asking these questions:

Students and their families are asking tough questions. Should we pay full tuition for classes taught online? On the other hand, are crowded lecture halls really the best way to learn? And what is that degree really worth, anyway?

For now we'll hang loose and look at options.

More evidence of seismic shift in higher education - huge decline in enrollment

Colleges Face 15%-20% Drop In Enrollment; S&P Lowers Credit Rating Of 25% Of Colleges shares details from a Wall Street Journal article:

"Schools should expect a 15% decline in enrollment next fall and a $45 billion decline in revenue from tuition, room and board and other services, according to the American Council on Education, the nation’s largest advocacy group for colleges and universities. Some administrators say those projections are too rosy."

Colleges Could Lose 20% of Students reports on a recent survey which found:

• Ten percent of college-bound seniors who had planned to enroll at a four-year college before the COVID-19 outbreak have already made alternative plans.
• Fourteen percent of college students said they were unlikely to return to their current college or university in the fall, or it was "too soon to tell." Exactly three weeks later, in mid-April, that figure had gone up to 26 percent.
• Gap years may be gaining in popularity. While hard to track, there are estimates that 3 percent of freshmen take a gap year. Since the pandemic, internet searches for gap years have skyrocketed.
• College students do not like the online education they have been receiving. To finish their degrees, 85 percent want to go back to campus, but 15 percent want to finish online.

This huge.  A one year decline of this magnitude will probably cause some colleges to fail. 

Hat tip: Instapundit

How are you handling the Quarantine?

I hope everyone is doing OK.

We are doing fine.  It is a little weird finally living Ground Hog Day.

I enjoy how some people are dealing with the quarantine, like: