With over 6 million COVID-19 cases and counting across the country, stories pour in of colleges counting COVID-19 cases in the hundreds in the span of just a few short weeks. Colleges have adjusted their procedures for learning to varying results and have adapted differently according to their own unique challenges posed by the virus.
At the beginning of August, colleges opened their doors amidst heated debates. Since Sept. 3, according to the New York Times, some 51,000 cases have emerged on over 1,000 college campuses. Data indicates that a substantial amount of confirmed cases are from colleges in the South.
All public, 4-year colleges as well as private universities that participate in NCAA sports in Texas have recorded the most cases in the nation — 6,106 in 63 schools. Alabama is second with 4,093 cases in 17 schools. The University of South Carolina, currently standing at 1,443 cases, reported 1,026 confirmed COVID-19 cases in just one week.
Locally, the University of Kentucky posted on its COVID-19 data dashboard 484 total active cases, but also 506 recoveries, as of Sept. 8.
Although these tell a pessimistic story, there are some schools, including Asbury, that have done exceptionally well. Asbury has had only four confirmed cases and only two active, according to President Kevin Brown.
Likewise, other successful campuses include Holy Cross College with two cases, Emerson College with one only case, and a community college in Ohio called Stark State College with no cases.
Some discrepancies can be found in the reporting of COVID numbers.
“Given the disparities in size and transparency among universities, this data should not be used to make campus-to-campus comparisons,” the Times said. “Some colleges remove people from their tallies once they recover. Some only report tests performed on campus. And some initially provided data but then stopped.”
When adjusted for the total student population of a college that reported to the Times, the total number of active COVID cases rarely exceeded 3 percent.
Some are taking very different approaches to managing the spread of the virus. Some colleges have closed campuses and taken on remote learning while others, like Asbury, offer a hybrid learning experience with a mix of both in-person and remote classes.
