COVID-19 Higher Education Planning Tools
Revised COVID-19 Higher Education Planning Tools for 2021-2022
Over the past year and a half, researchers, academic institutions, private business, and governments have created an unprecedented response to the global pandemic. Academic institutions, in particular, have managed a wide range of robust responses to meet the complex needs of their stakeholders. This guide is designed to help institutions’ assess their preparation for the upcoming academic year. This Summer 2021 addendum includes the following updates:
New COVID-19 Self-Assessment Risk Calculator for Higher Education
This revised Risk Calculator and Mitigation Evaluation reflects advances in vaccines and places greater emphasis on ventilation and less emphasis on extensive sanitation procedures.
New COVID-19 Summer 2021 Addendum for Higher Education
This addendum provides highly pertinent websites & resources related:
- Vaccines & vaccine policies,
- International students,
- Managing student cohorts, and
- Innovation & Technology.
This guide and accompanying risk assessment calculator are intended to accommodate a wide range of institutions: public, private, large, small, comprehensive, specialized, urban, and rural. Each institution will need to develop and implement its own tailored approach to reopening in-person instruction.
Summer 2021 COVID-19 Addendum for Institutions of Higher Education
Over the past year and a half researchers, academic institutions, private business, and governments have created an unprecedented response to the global pandemic. Academic institutions, in particular, have managed a wide range of robust responses to meet the complex needs of their stakeholders. This guide is designed to help institutions’ assess their preparation for the upcoming academic year. This guide offers updated considerations and resources based on the dramatic advances in contesting COVID-19. These considerations align with the revised COVID-19 Risk Assessment Calculator which takes into account the increasingly widespread availability of vaccines along with a better understanding of managing COVID. While we recommend institutions use this guide and Risk Calculator to support planning efforts, institutions must also remain up-to-date on COVID-19 developments including the spread of variants, vaccine developments, and COVID transmission.
Summer 2020 COVID-19 Planning and Self-Assessment Guide for Higher Education
The COVID-19 Planning Guide and Self-Assessment for Higher Education is designed to be a practical planning tool to help institutions in two ways. First, the guide poses four central questions to determine if your institution is prepared to reopen for each of the major COVID-19 Phases. Second, the guide is organized into leadership, cross-functional, and functional workgroups to support comprehensive planning efforts across various institutional groups. The guide also contains links to guidelines, resources, and media reports to further supplement institutional planning.
There are over 500 statements which can be considered separately by planning groups, or comprehensively across the institution. The statements are designed to support institutional preparedness and inspire higher education institutions to develop custom-tailored responses depending on their unique situations. There is no single solution to the challenges brought on by COVID-19. While we recommend institutions use this guide to support planning efforts, institutions must also remain up-to-date on COVID-19 developments including epidemiology reports, regulations, guidelines and best practices for operating safely. While the guide covers a wide range of topics, it may not be comprehensive for all environments. Ultimately all decisions rest with institutional leadership.
2021 Revised Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security Self-Assessment Calculator
The COVID-19 Self-Assessment Calculator has been updated (July 2021) to reflect the availability of multiple COVID vaccines and a better understanding of methods to mitigate COVID, namely greater emphasis on ventilation and a decreased emphasis on sanitation. The calculator is intended to help higher education institutions identify and understand their baseline risk and the impact that major mitigation steps (e.g. vaccination, social distancing, PPE, contact tracing, testing, etc.) may have on risk scores. Risk scores are calculated and output ratings of very low, low, moderate, high, and very high are intended to provide institutions with a tool for self-evaluation. An institutions’ risk rating should not be considered as a permission for reopening in-person operations, nor a definitive closure measure, but it will allow institutions to further plan for the health and safety of their stakeholders.
- Key determinants of risk to assess an institution’s health and safety predisposition in COVID-19 environments
- Mitigation steps to determine the institution’s ability to decrease risk
Smartsheet Return-to-Campus Planning Tool
Turn the COVID-19 Planning Guide into an actionable plan with this free, customizable Smartsheet solution. Smartsheet is the work management platform designed to help you align your people with your technology.
The Smartsheet Higher Education Return-to-Campus Planning tool empowers leaders to plan and monitor the progress around essential health and safety factors related to return-to-campus operations.
- Assign work across planning groups and institutions
- Develop timelines to meet key deadlines and drive accountability
- Visualize critical data on a dashboard to drive alignment and transparency
Disclaimer: Resources on this website are designed to help institutions assess operational risks and to assist with fulsome development of plans for the future. They are not designed to be prescriptive and are not in any manner to be considered a “standard of care.” Furthermore, Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, CHEA, and Tuscany Strategy will not be held liable for illness, death, damage, cost, or inconvenience, or any other issues or liabilities associated with any institutional planning and/or implementation decisions derived from usage of any materials herein.
Help Us In Supporting Higher Education
Please fill out the form to get the 2021 Guide.
As a part of our pro bono effort to support higher education, we are interested in understanding which institutions are utilizing these tools. Please provide your contact information to help us support future research efforts related to COVID and college/university operations. Your contact information will be kept strictly confidential. We do not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to any third party individual, government agency, or company at any time unless compelled to do so by law.
