According to Taiwan's Central Epidemic Command Center, by June 18, 2020, Taiwan had a total of just 446 COVID-19 cases, with 434 recoveries, 7 deaths, and 5 patients hospitalized. There are 24 million residents in Taiwan and 1.2 million are students in higher education. The Ministry of Education of Taiwan has the authority to set policies and procedures for colleges and universities, and researcher Cheng and colleagues were proposers of the successful plan for reopening universities and colleges.


Taiwan Re-opening Higher Education

According to the CDC, in June 2020, 17% of the 2 million COVID-19 cases were among people aged 18-29. College staff and faculty are primarily between ages 40 and 74, a cohort that has experienced over 1 million cases. As of July, over 16 million college students plan to enroll in about 4000 higher education institutions in fall 2020. In contrast to state universities which may need to adhere to certain government safety protocol to receive funding, private universities facing severe financial crises from campus closure may decide to re-open.

United States Re-opening Higher Education

Syracuse University

Smith College

The college/university settings pose unique challenges to the management of students and faculty/staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. The dense populations and close-quarters of residential environments on most college campuses create high risks for viral transmission. On the other hand, college students may be more willing to follow proper safety protocol instituted by a college and may be more able to handle remote learning when necessary. 

Reopening Colleges/Universities for Fall 2020 during the COVID-19 Pandemic

- Colleges/ universities receive increased revenue from student residential and meal plans
- In-person learning provides a superior educational experience for students

Benefits to Re-opening Colleges/Universities during Fall 2020 COVID-19 Pandemic

- Implementing pre-emptive NAT testing before the start of the semester 
- Screening student population every two days with a low sensitivity, high specificity test
- Living arrangements for isolation of cases and quarantine of contacts
- Appointing administration and health care task forces for COVID-19 prevention and management 
- Extensive contact tracing of all infected individuals on campus and their contacts 
- Dedensification of residential arrangements, classrooms, and events 
- Enforcing personal hygiene protocol like mask-wearing and enforcing frequent disinfecting of any shared spaces
- Requiring students to quarantine for at least 14 days before the start of classes

Safety Measures for Re-opening Colleges/Universities during the COVID-19 Pandemic 

- Remote lab learning outcomes in higher education 

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