The great pandemic of 2020 has unarguably changed the way we do business and function in our day to day lives. Routines have been disrupted, and nothing feels “normal.” Higher education is no exception. After our governor issued a stay-at-home order, Colorado’s institutions quickly made the difficult decision to extend spring break; send...

The Higher Learning Advocates team sat down with José Luis Cruz, Executive Vice Chancellor and University Provost at The City University of New York, to learn more about CUNY’s response to COVID-19 in New York City, previously the epicenter of the pandemic in the U.S. Q: The coronavirus pandemic has affected colleges, and students, across&he...

There is no playbook for how to best respond to a global pandemic, and while it is virtually impossible to predict the lasting impact that COVID-19 will have on our students and the State of California, the Campaign for College Opportunity  is pivoting our work to ensure students remain front and center. As one of the…

On March 3, Dr. Amy Morrison, president of the Lake Washington Institute of Technology, gave her fellow presidents a blunt warning about COVID-19: “Mentally prepare yourself; it’s coming your way.” Sadly, she was in the position to know. Her college was the first in the nation to close for cleaning and disinfection after students and…

My name is Nicole Agu and I am an international student from Nigeria enrolled at the College of Staten Island in the City University of New York. I am currently a senior studying accounting and international business and minoring in finance and business data analytics. My journey as an international student has been very challenging…

My name is Christine Bourgeois and I am wrapping up my junior year as a marketing major in the College of Business at the University of New Orleans. I spent my last two semesters serving as the President of the Student Government Association. I will start by saying this last month was not how I…

When I first enrolled at Colorado Mesa University, I hoped my time in college would help me learn critical thinking skills, find and clarify my purpose, and meet my closest friends. For the past three years, college has lived up to these expectations, helping me grow as a person and as a leader. I have…

I remember learning about Harvard’s decision to close and evict all of its students due to the growing concern of COVID-19. I knew it was only a matter of time before Bard would have to close and implement social distancing measures similar to those happening at universities across the country. I began planning how I…

Many people are often suspicious of Friday the 13. I was never one of those people, but perhaps a level of suspicion could have helped me prepare for Friday, March 13—the day my home, the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, announced its closure and transition to remote learning as a result of the outbreak of…

There is absolutely no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has changed higher education in a way that is almost completely unprecedented. Age-old processes, procedures, and traditions have gone out the window in a number of weeks, and both students and faculty have been thrust into an online learning modality that very few are trained in…

On March 6, Cornell students learned that the local Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit system, known affectionately as the TCAT, would be undertaking preventative measures to guard against the novel coronavirus which could disrupt routes around the Ithaca campus. Just the day prior, they had been informed of new travel restrictions and students stu...

When all the students were called to move out of our dorms at Georgetown University, I was worried about how I was going to store my belongings and if I would be able to fly back home. The University had originally given us a three weeks notice to move out. However, as the probability of…