8 miles apart, 2 wildly different COVID strategies at U of I, Washington State

To reopen or not to reopen? That is the question colleges were asking as the fall semester approached. Although only 8 miles apart, the University of Idaho and Washington State University have very different answers.

Staff and faculty at the University of Idaho in Moscow spent the last few months preparing so students could be safely welcomed back to campus Aug. 24.

On the other side of the border in Pullman, Washington State University discouraged students from returning to campus at all, prepping for an almost entirely remote learning experience. Only classes that cannot be taught without hands-on experience will occur in-person, and only after passing several levels of vetting.

From an outside view, it may seem curious that the universities developed such different strategies, but the factors that led to their decisions are complex.

At a glance, both universities seem to be in similar situations. The U of I and Washington State are situated in rural towns of similar size in the Pacific Northwest. The number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 were similar in Latah and Whitman Counties, where the U of I and WSU are located, respectively.

“One would think that if the best science was being used in both cases, you would come up to a similar result,” said Troy Henderson, the director of the Whitman County Public Health Department.

U of I students preferred in-person classes

In Latah County, the University of Idaho is striving to create a safe environment that aligns with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, while also making sure the university experience has a sense of continuity.

“We wholeheartedly believe the student experience, that transformative education, happens on campus,” said Cami McClure, the vice president of administrative operations at the University of Idaho.

Jodi Walker, the director of communications at the U of I, said student demand impacted decision-making; the vast majority of students who contacted the university this summer requested in-person classes.

“The University of Idaho is a destination campus,” Walker said. “Students come here because of the experience of wanting to be part of our campus community. Our students miss being engaged. Two-thirds of our undergraduates are involved in research, so our students are very hands on.”

Financial considerations also influenced the decision to reopen. Staff predicted a $33 million loss if the university went online only for the entire academic year, compounding the $22 million lost last spring. Staff were furloughed. No one wanted a repeat this fall.

“We’re not going to ask people to pay a lot of money and then not deliver an experience that’s … where they’re getting value for their dollar,” McClure said.

Ensuring students can safely attend classes takes planning and effort beyond the basics of social distancing, masks, and providing PPE. Event spaces are being repurposed as classrooms, and rooms that once held 1,000 people have been restructured for 100. The University of Idaho has even found ways for music classes to continue, with the marching band performing outside in heated, lighted tents.

Furthermore, the U of I opened its own lab to test for COVID-19. All students were required to be tested before the school year started. Throughout the year, symptomatic students, or close contacts of someone who tested positive, can get tested and expect results in under 48 hours.

With these measures, staff and faculty in Moscow believe they can give students the best education, while keeping them safe until Thanksgiving break. After holiday travel, it will shift to remote learning to prevent an outbreak.

Washington State’s campus presents challenges

Across the border, Washington State decided to start the academic year with remote learning.

Phil Weiler, the vice president for marketing and communications at Washington State, says the university originally planned a hybrid model, but changed course due to safety concerns.

Modifying the campus to support-in person learning would be prohibitive: small classrooms and limited other spaces, such as restrooms and stairwells, restrict the number of students who could be safely accommodated.

Air-handling capacity played a critical role in decision-making. Washington State would need to switch between inside and outside air every 15 minutes to reduce the chance of viral transmission. However, the region’s recent history of seasonal forest fires might fill classrooms with smoke.

Weiler believes the transition to online learning is easier for Washington State than most colleges as it has a long history in remote learning. In fact, one of its six campuses is taught completely online.

“From an educational perspective, the education will be just as good, but it will be different,” Weiler said.

Weiler acknowledges there will be no sports events, no study groups to discuss big ideas, no conversations with roommates. Washington State is looking for ways to replace some of that, but no online experience can truly capture the spontaneity of in-person interactions.

University staff feared students returning from urban areas would launch community spread, overwhelming Pullman’s health care system, designed to support a small community. If the virus rages out of control, officials are worried the system may collapse.

“We would love to have some face-to-face classes, but the numbers are going in the wrong direction in Washington and in the country,” Weiler said before the semester began.

What it takes to open

While each university has developed its own solution, the question remains whether colleges should reopen at all.

Henderson, of Whitman County Public Health, believes it’s possible for universities to reopen and still function safely. However, three basic parameters must be in place.

First, Henderson says the surrounding community must have low virus transmission — less than 25 cases per 100,000 people over two weeks. Second, a university must have the ability to test symptomatic students and close contacts. Third, the test results must be available within 24-48 hours. Surveillance testing to ascertain undetected spread is optimal.

Nationally, colleges starting with in-person classes are already experiencing outbreaks connected to parties where social distancing guidelines were not followed. Off-campus parties in Moscow and Pullman risk sabotaging months of meticulous preparations. Parties at privately owned housing at Washington State’s Greek Row were linked to 30 new COVID-19 cases on Aug. 21 alone.

Both universities have cautioned students about the potential consequences of disregard for university policy. President Scott Greene released a memo warning that if the Moscow Police Department or the U of I found students at parties not following proper guidelines, students could be suspended or expelled. Students at Washington State identified not following protocol risk disciplinary action and heavy fines.

The results so far are the opposite of what you’d expect: Cases are spiking in Whitman County, where WSU students have congregated even with remote learning, instead of Latah County.

Whitman County’s case count went from 138 to 618 from Aug. 20 to Sept. 2, according to The Spokesman-Review. Latah County’s case count went from 148 to 239 during the same dates, according to data tracked by the Idaho Statesman.

Lily Veith is a senior at Potlatch High School in Potlatch, Idaho. She wrote this story as part of the School of the New York Times Summer Academy for Journalism.

This story was originally published September 7, 2020 at 4:00 AM.