INDIANAPOLIS — Many colleges and universities have a few weeks before they welcome back students, but right now they are preparing their safety measures amid the pandemic.
"We've been hearing from students and parents for months … 'please find a way to make it possible;' 'we want to come we don't want to stop our education,'" Mitch Daniels, Purdue University president, said.
Daniels says around 88% of students have opted to return to campus while 12% of undergrads have opted for online classes due to safety reasons or travel bans.
Purdue University is taking many safety measures to provide the safest environment for students to return to, including purchasing more than a mile of pexiglass that will be used ti separate professors from students. The university is also designating 500 beds to those whoe need to quarantine.
"I don't think you can do too much when you're trying to protect students, and in our case, especially faculty and staff who may be more vulnerable than our students will be," Daniels said.
Students heading to Purdue's campus will be required to be tested for COVID-19, paid for by the university.
Other Indiana universities are laying out similar plans. IU is also requiring students to get tested, those planning to attend classes at the Bloomington campus must get tested within ten days of arriving. At other IU locations, students will only be required to get tested if they are moving into the dorms.
Ball State University is adding more classes in the evening to allow for smaller class sizes, and anyone who is on campus will be required to wear a face mask or shield at all times. Unless they are alone in a workspace, or working behind a plexiglass barrier.
Daniels says those involved in higher education are exchanging ideas and asking questions to make sure schools are doing the best they can to provide safe learning environments.
"Nobody can say for certain that we can make this work," Daniels said. "Plans have been changing, but it's the right thing to try to do. We are going to try everything we can to make it more successful."
