Some Colleges Plan to Open in the Fall. Will Students Show Up?

As an unprecedented spring semester in the coronavirus pandemic comes to a close, colleges and universities have begun to announce their plans for the fall. For a growing number of institutions — the University of Alabama system, the University of Vermont, Baylor University, and Nicholls State University among them — the plan is to resume in-person teaching.

What that will actually mean in practice remains undetermined. The University System of Georgia, for example, recently said it plans to start a “phased, gradual reopening” over the summer, though plans remain “fluid,” according to The Red & Black, the student newspaper for the flagship campus in Athens.

Despite colleges’ pronouncements, a key question remains: Will students show up?

Early signals from students show that the concern college presidents have about fall enrollment is warranted.

Students aren’t the only ones rethinking their options for the fall — so are their parents.