What will it take for New Jersey colleges to reopen this fall?
A stockpile of PPE, capacity for coronavirus testing, guidelines for contact tracing, and some college presidents say, no legal recourse for students and faculty who contract COVID-19 while on campus.
“Is there any safe harbor that can be provided by the state so that if we bring our students back and follow all the approved (protocols), we will not be held liable?” Felician University President Anne Prisco asked state lawmakers Tuesday.
Prisco and several college presidents requested immunity from coronavirus lawsuits during a Senate Higher Education Committee hearing on the impact of COVID-19 on colleges. The threat of costly lawsuits remains an impediment to colleges reopening, said Eugene Lepore, executive director of the New Jersey Association of State Colleges and Universities.
Calls for immunity from New Jersey academic leaders thrust local colleges into the heart of a national debate over how society should reopen and what legal protections are necessary for businesses and institutions. Their requests echo college presidents nationwide as higher education grapples with reopening campuses designed for crowded classrooms, cafeterias and residence halls in a time of social distancing.
“We are truly a 24/7 environment where people are working in very close and intimate environments, in most cases people living together on a 24/7 basis,” said Gregory Dell’Omo, president of Rider University.
In supplemental written comments, Dell’Omo said colleges face increasing legal risks, not only from those who contract the virus but from class-action suits demanding refunds.
“We find ourselves seriously exposed by events that are out of our control,” Dell’Omo wrote. “The financial impact from these kinds of lawsuits will seriously jeopardize the financial solvency of many colleges and universities in New Jersey.”
Nationally, opponents of granting broad immunity to businesses and institutions have argued that it will encourage cutting corners at a time when safety measures should be paramount.
Lawmakers made no promises of immunity during the hearing, which was an opportunity for colleges to explain how they are responding to the crisis and ask for support from the state government. But college presidents were clear that several hurdles remain beyond the legal risk they would take by having students return in August.
“We all know that if we are going to do this right, we are going to need to put in place a complex and delicate system that blends on campus operations with remote operations with all kinds of health and social distancing protocols to make things safe," said Susan Cole, president of Montclair State University. “Because the fact of the matter is you cannot function as a university with remote learning. It is not possible.”
Colleges worry they will end up competing with each other to purchase PPE, and they still want guidelines from the state for testing and contact tracing as well as the potential for antibody testing, presidents said. Several colleges are preparing for the possibility of a hybrid reopening, with some classes and activities occurring on campus and other continuing remotely.
All of those challenges are exacerbated by significant financial concerns, Cole said. The state’s larger colleges already have lost millions in projected revenue this spring, gave away millions in refunds or credits and now face expected enrollment declines and state aid reductions. But their expenses are only going to rise, she said.
“That is a cost,” Cole said of safely reopening campus. “That just doesn’t drop out of they sky. This is possibly the most expensive way to offer education.”
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Adam Clark may be reached at adam_clark@njadvancemedia.com. Tell us your coronavirus story or send a tip here.
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