West Virginia University does not intend to make its virtual classroom status stretch on indefinitely.
WVU is aware that behavior on campus can also affect the surrounding community, particularly public schools.
And, yes, in retrospect WVU officials think it was still a good idea to try to provide some classroom instruction this fall. That’s even though the university decided to halt most classroom instruction earlier this week.
“I look at it as a circuit breaker. We were getting more cases and more spread on our university, and we needed to take a break,” said Rob Alsop, the university’s vice president for strategic initiatives.
Alsop and other university officials participated in a Campus Connect virtual conversation today. More than a thousand people streamed the live event, which lasted about an hour and a half.
Much has happened at the university in just a few weeks.
The weekend before classes began, university officials were already alarmed by reports of parties and possible virus repercussions.
The fall semester began officially August 19, with extra precautions in place because of the coronavirus pandemic. Freshmen, graduate students and some professional students started with classroom instruction with most others starting virtually.
Initial testing at the campus in Morgantown showed fewer than 1 percent of students testing positive for covid-19.
Alsop was asked today if, on reflection, that start was wise. “Since we had to go online shortly after classes started, did we do the right thing?” a participant asked.
Alsop responded, “I believe we did the right thing. Our students wanted to come back. We believe and still believe the better choice was to bring our students back, at least a portion of them.”
Fairly quickly, though, matters started getting more complicated.
Payment for fall charges was due Sept. 1, which meant a significant financial commitment to the year for students and families.
That same day, concerns about the spread of virus intensified when photographs circulated on social media of young people in long lines for Morgantown bars. Few appeared to be keeping their distance or wearing masks.
“We must do better,” WVU President Gordon Gee said in an open letter. Gov. Jim Justice announced right away that Monongalia County bars would be ordered shut. Three West Virginia University students accused of repeatedly flouting covid-19 guidelines faced suspension or expulsion.
Then, this past Sunday, Sept. 6, the university announced 29 students would be suspended after their participation in off-campus parties where covid-19 precautions were not followed.
The next day, Labor Day, WVU announced it would temporarily shift most undergraduate courses online.
As all that happened, the number of positive tests among students rose sharply.
That’s in part a reflection of who was being tested. At first, covid tests were administered broadly to returning students, faculty and staff.
But more recently, the tests have been given to students exhibiting covid symptoms or believed to have been exposed to the virus.
By that standard, those tests are more likely to come back positive — and that has been the case.
In the days leading up to WVU’s decision to go virtual:
15.72 percent of students tested positive on Sept. 4;
12.7 percent on Sept. 5;
12.9 percent on Sept. 6;
and 17.02 percent on Sept. 7.
Those figures were accompanied by a rising number of isolations for students who were awaiting virus tests results and quarantines for students who were suspected to have come into contact with a virus carrier.
Add to that West Virginia’s overall picture.
The state’s daily positive percentage has been higher in recent days than it was for months, a trend that Governor Justice called “really bad.” And West Virginia has been worst in the nation for the rate of spread for days.
“This is really a pivotal time for the entire state,” said Dr. Jeffrey Coben, associate vice president for health affairs at WVU. “It’s critical that we try to do everything we can to reverse these numbers.”
Hitting home, a map depicting the spread of virus in West Virginia counties categorized Monongalia County — where WVU is located — as red. That meant local K-12 schools had to go online and extracurricular activities were shelved right as the new year was supposed to begin.
“We need to get the situation cooled down. We need to do it for our own health, our own safety. And we need to do it for our K-12 community,” Alsop said.
Although the university has blamed parties for much of the risk, officials today described shutting down classroom instruction as a matter of averting “collisions. ”
“As we bring more people together, that’s really what we’re trying to reduce,” Coben said.
“Despite our efforts to de-densify the classroom, we know these are settings where there are numbers of people brought together in indoor environments for 50 minutes or longer.”
University officials said they are taking additional steps too. For example, students are being asked not to gather in groups larger than 10.
And students who live on campus are being asked not to leave, a precaution meant to avoid spreading the virus more broadly. Students who live off-campus are being asked to not come to campus.
Meanwhile, some aspects of campus life continue.
West Virginia University’s home football game against Eastern Kentucky will go on as scheduled this weekend, but without fans in the stadium.
Alsop was asked about that too.
“Is the football team still playing this weekend, and if so, why? How can you justify them playing contact sports while students are not able to take classes in person?” one of the Zoom participants asked.
Alsop acknowledged that’s the case and said one reason is that athletes are tested regularly for the virus
“Our football team goes through a number of rigorous protocols that our general student population is not going through as it relates to health and safety and risk, including being tested three times a week,” he said.
“So as we look at the risk profile for our athletes as a university and as a conference, the Big 12, we’ve made a determination that with those safety protocols in place that we’ve decided to move forward with football this fall, albeit with no fans.”
The university intends to return to on-campus course delivery on Monday, Sept. 28 if conditions allow. WVU says it will reevaluate the public health situation on Sept. 23 and advise whether on-campus learning will resume.
“This is not a glide path towards going online for the rest of the semester,” Alsop said. “It is our goal to get back to in-class instruction.”