When June 21 marked 100 days since universities collectively flipped to remote learning, I completed a qualitative analysis of the suddenly-virtual classroom based on the experiences of 50 faculty, students and staff at 40+ campuses worldwide. As ?post-COVID? becomes common parlance, I learnt of the personal impact of this watershed phase in health and human interaction as it accelerates long-emergent changes at campuses. It is amplifying deficiencies and strengths in institutional models and forcing a deeper reckoning of the relevance of higher education.
From small liberal-arts schools to large research universities, Spring?s ?band-aid-education? received a grade of B-. Campus life is filled with beloved rituals; everyone missed the structure and rhythm of scheduled classes and discovered the merits of ?face time? and shared experiences. The university experience exemplifies community, emblematic of a time when young adults gain independence, build lifelong friendships and discover purpose, mostly in the spaces between classes. Has COVID19 killed the campus" While this question has arisen since MOOCs became prevalent, the pandemic?s unilateral impact raises fundamental questions on the significance of the campus experience, and architecture as a parameter of excellence.
PLANNING BEYOND The next hundred days:
Navigating Fall?s uncertainty requires various strategies and improvisations based on campus scale, curricula, socio-economic and climatic factors, and regional ...