COVID-19 Response Strategies at Large Institutes of Higher Education in the United States: A Landscape Analysis, Fall 2020.

PURPOSE: To examine the pandemic response plans of institutes of higher education (i.e., colleges and universities), including COVID-19 prevention, enforcement, and testing strategies. METHOD: Data from the largest public (n = 50) and private (n = 50) US institutes of higher education were collected from October 30 to November 20, 2020. RESULTS: Most institutes of higher education (n = 93) offered some in-person teaching in the Fall 2020 semester; most adopted masking (100%) and physical distancing (99%) mandates. Other preventive strategies included on-campus housing de-densification (58%), classroom de-densification (61%), mandated COVID-19-related training (39%), and behavioral compacts (43%). Testing strategies included entry testing (65%), testing at regular intervals (32%), population sample testing (46%), and exit testing (15%). More private than public institutes implemented intercollegiate athletics bans, behavioral compacts, and suspension clauses for noncompliance. CONCLUSIONS: Variability in COVID-19 prevention and testing strategies highlights the need for national recommendations and the equitable distribution of sufficient pandemic response resources to institutes of higher education.

Duke Scholars

Author Sarah Commisso Armstrong Pediatrics, General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health

Author Cameron Robert Wolfe Medicine, Infectious Diseases

Author Rushina Cholera Pediatrics, General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health