“On-campus housing at Florida’s public universities could undergo a drastic face-lift in the fall, with residence halls limited to certain classes of students, according to draft recommendations from a key higher education group.
Committee members are exploring the idea of reserving on-campus housing for freshmen, seniors, and graduate students. They also suggested that on-campus living be placed off limits to sophomores and juniors as universities begin to reopen in the fall amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Florida Education Association (FEA) and the United Faculty of Florida (UFF), both unions, set up committees to work out ways to get K-12 and universities up and running in the new academic year, though it’s clear that campus life will be different than in the past.
The groups will roll out recommendations for K-12 schools Tuesday; and for higher education on Wednesday. The recommendations will be presented to Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran, among others.
The higher education committee indicated during a recent Zoom meeting that sophomores and juniors would need to use remote learning rather than regular classroom instruction. That raises questions about what college will look like if large numbers of sophomores and juniors aren’t part of the student population.
The recommendations aren’t final and would only apply to certain colleges “in order to cut down how many students need to be on campus,” UFF President Karen Morian said in a phone interview with the Florida Phoenix.”
Read the full article on FloridaPhoenix.com.
