ND Planning on Starting Fall Semester Week of August 10th
by dillon77 (2020-05-18 17:42:04)

According to a press release,
"The University of Notre Dame will welcome students back to campus for the 2020-21 fall semester the week of Aug. 10, two weeks earlier than originally scheduled, and will forgo fall break in October and end the semester before Thanksgiving, the University’s president, Rev. John I. Jenkins, C.S.C., announced today in letters to the campus community.

"The University canceled academic and other summer programming through July 6. In his letters, Father Jenkins extended that cancellation through the remainder of the summer, with the exception of a small number of students whose summer work is preparatory for the fall semester."

Wonder if "a small number of students whose summer work is preparatory for the fall semester" refers to students getting ready for a specific course of study or to folks who are trying to get some course work in to cut down on hours once the fall starts up (such as student athletes).

I've attached the article, which does not mention sports. Imagine something on that will be forthcoming shortly.






Ending at thanksgiving. Why?
by RISteve  (2020-05-18 18:16:20)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I agree on student athletes as candidates to be on campus during the summer. I suspect many, many restrictions around their activities


So they eliminate Fall break
by BIG MAC  (2020-05-18 20:38:36)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

Kids will get on campus and stay on campus until early release in November


Perhaps relatedly, the University of South Carolina is
by beancounter  (2020-05-18 19:46:45)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

moving to online classes only after Thanksgiving in anticipation of the second wave. Maybe ND is building in flexibility for the same reason.


My guess to reduce travel risk. Secondly ND needs to be open
by Domerduck  (2020-05-18 18:21:51)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

in person to justify tuition, etc. All universities are dealing with this and this is much bigger than sports. If remote education takes hold, many elite universities will be goners.


I don't think it's the elite universities that need to worry
by Tex Francisco  (2020-05-18 19:42:22)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

The top 75 or so, and particularly the top 25, universities in the country are an entirely different beast than the other 3000+ universities in the country.

Also, after 3+ months of lock down, I envision parents kicking their kids out the door, not wanting to keep them home an extra year.


More than half of HYP students said they'd take a year off *
by SavageDragon  (2020-05-19 03:09:12)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


Sorry...HYP =? *
by drmurray  (2020-05-20 07:04:57)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


Exactly!
by BabaGhanouj  (2020-05-20 07:33:31)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

As I've commented previously, this silly attempt to save pixels and a few key strokes on the part of the writer leads to consternation and frustration in wasting time searching the internet to come up with obscure acronyms on the part of the reader. In this case: HYP stands for Harvard, Yale, Princeton. I had to look it up, also, and my dad was a member of the local HYP Club for a short time.

However, the practice will not stop. For whatever reasons people love to use acronyms! So take this comment as humor, entertainment or as one more foible of human behavior (mine and others).


A small excuse, but the subject line does pose a limit
by NDoggie78  (2020-05-20 09:03:18)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I too had to look it up, but have also found myself abbreviating, losing punctuation, and using acronyms to get the subject/thought into the subject line.

My recommendation for compromise - Acronyms for Dummies.
Perhaps if the poster's first line in the body of the post was:
HYP = Harvard, Yale, Princeton

I would suggest this for all posters using acronyms.

(I do know that SMA,P = Suck My Ass, Pat ..... I think the whole story for the evolution of this acronym is in the archives)


As a Rule of Thumb....
by dillon77  (2020-05-20 10:23:31)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

..I remember most stylebooks would recommend doing exactly that for well-known acronyms, nicknames, etc., unless the person is very well known by the target group; say MM here. Although now that Muffet is retired, does Michaela Mabrey become MM? Or does she stay Mike? Or Mabrey1?


Ha, ha, ha…. I'm not even going to look for that. *
by BabaGhanouj  (2020-05-20 09:18:40)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


And they can be replaced with students who are 99% as
by Tex Francisco  (2020-05-19 13:34:03)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

credentialed. By comparison, if half of Bethel College's students don't want to come back, the institution is no longer viable.


Might lose their spot
by NDoggie78  (2020-05-19 09:51:29)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

I have seen some schools mention not honoring admittance if a so called gap year is taken between high school and college. Not sure if that would apply to current students, but the top Universities would have the leverage here.


This is really frustrating for us.
by ewillND  (2020-05-22 10:59:29)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

G17 mentioned in her Common App, submitted in the fall, that she would be taking a gap year (we are in Europe, and that is a common thing here). She will be completing a ski instructor course this summer, and will spend the winter working at a ski center and most likely working as an assistant coach for her former ski team.

If her chosen school pushes back in favor of kids who opted out recently, she's not going to be happy. I won't be surprised if she ends up reopening the application process and staying in Europe.


Then now is the time to apply with easier admissions. *
by BabaGhanouj  (2020-05-19 08:29:01)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


Before flu season kicks in? Most of semester in warm weather *
by RISteve  (2020-05-18 18:34:09)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


This is exactly correct. Colleges and universities are
by Fighting_Artichoke  (2020-05-18 21:27:54)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

trying a few different strategies to reduce risk to their student population. At my school we are offering a lot of 8-week courses so they would be completed before a second wave. Plus the majority of the courses are completely online, with just art, science labs, and classes like nursing that have practicums continuing with face-to-face classes. Residential colleges and universities (mine is all commuter) have tough choices to make. The 3 state universities here in Arizona announced in-person classes for the fall, but delayed when students must decide where they will go until until June 1st (because so few students were ready to make a choice). The deadline is usually May 1st. After students decide, the universities may decide to announce that there will be only an online option. We'll see.


Possible? Also Keep Kids on Campus for One Long Spelll
by dillon77  (2020-05-18 19:06:28)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

...and try to avoid interaction with outside folks who may/may not spread the virus. Also eliminates holiday travel into ND, which would be a major worry point.

You'd have to think fall sports like football would carry on until end of seasons and winter sports will, too. I'll bet a bottom dollar those seasons might be be condensed and, if possible, become more localized (although ND is lucky enough to travel by charter most of the time).


Correct. Eliminates 2 trips that would bring infection into
by btd  (2020-05-21 22:41:42)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

ND: fall break and thanksgiving break. Starting 2 weeks earlier plus the fall break week allows them to get the normal days in before thanksgiving.

The other side effects are more happens in warmer weather. In spite of what media reports, the second wave will not happen in the fall. The second wave begins in late December and peaks in February. That is when Flu season is for the US -- not the fall. Vaccine companies -- every single one is my customer -- do not plan for fall adverse event waves from the vaccines being administered. They plan for the wave to begin end of December -- it's an annual dilemma in drug safety that people at vaccine companies have to work the holiday season as a result.

The longer break also lets ND's assess and regroup between semesters. If they are smart -- and the news about fall semester indicates they have some active brain cells at the moment -- they will do the opposite for spring semester and start 2-4 weeks later, eliminate spring break for the same infection reasons (the return to ND from break), eliminate Easter break, and end late May instead of early May. Shift more of the semester into warmer weather.


Thinking on Spring Semester as Book-End Makes Sense
by dillon77  (2020-05-22 06:32:43)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

If hoops goes through as scheduled ((even relatively), winter teams will be in a relatively empty campus for a lot of the winter months. Wonder if they'd relocate to specific dorms to cut down on costs.


Usually they stay at Morris Inn during Christmas break. *
by irishhawk49  (2020-05-22 14:23:22)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post


Thanks Dillon, Interesting, But TheyWould Have To Make An
by savr27  (2020-05-18 18:02:08)     cannot delete  |  Edit  |  Return to Board  |  Ignore Poster   |   Highlight Poster  |   Reply to Post

exception for athletes I would think, especially the football team