At UT-Rio Grande Valley, administrators spent a tense summer preparing for the fall semester while local coronavirus rates spiked, the area spiraled into further economic depression and debate raged across the nation about how to safely send college students back to school.
Reopening Texas Universities
Texas colleges and universities were abruptly shut down in mid-March, kicking thousands of students out of dorms and crowded lecture halls and forcing them into virtual classrooms. Now these schools are charting the path for the fall semester, trying to preserve the college cultural experience, while balancing safety and lost revenue. Students are making decisions about whether to return, whether online classes will serve their needs, whether the higher education experience is still worth the money, and whether they should participate in college sports.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
“It’s like walking into a ghost town”: Under tight pandemic restrictions, college football returns to Austin
With just over 15,000 fans in a stadium that holds more than 100,000, the University of Texas kicked off the football season after requiring mandatory COVID-19 tests for students who attended the game.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas college football returns with thousands of fans in the stadiums as campus cases grow
The University of Texas at Austin will face off against The University of Texas at El Paso on Saturday with thousands of fans in the stadium and new safety precautions.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
UT-Austin says it will require only student ticket holders to test negative for COVID-19 before Saturday’s football game
Other ticket holders and visitors from University of Texas at El Paso are not required to be tested to enter the stadium.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas universities blame off-campus parties for rising COVID-19 cases, but few are disciplining students
Schools, desperate to keep their doors open but worried about health risks to their students, are being put in the uncomfortable position of having to govern young adult behavior that is mostly happening off university property.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Student athletes get COVID-19 tests three times a week, while experts say testing for other university students is lagging
Public health experts say colleges need to dramatically ramp up testing in order to catch “silent spread” fueled by students who are infected but don’t have symptoms.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
“It’s pretty hard to learn how to draw an IV online”: This nursing student is grateful for hands-on training this semester
In the weekend edition of The Brief podcast, listen to why a University of Texas at Austin sophomore says attending in-person labs during the pandemic is worth the risk.
Posted in
Reopening Texas Universities
Texas A&M President Michael Young says he will retire May 31 to return to faculty
Young will continue as a faculty member for the Bush School of Government
and Public Service and the Texas A&M School of Law, and take on a new role as the director of the Institute for Religious Liberties and International Affairs.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
“We’re all holding our breath”: Health experts on school reopenings in Texas
The Texas Tribune spoke to experts about what the state can expect as schools and universities start school remotely or in person.
Posted in
Coronavirus in Texas
Texas State University welcomed students back in person Monday. Campus was a ghost town.
Monday was the first day of in-person instruction at the San Marcos campus since the coronavirus pandemic raged across Texas, forcing school officials to reinvent the college experience in an attempt to keep students safe.