Novel coronavirus. Sheltering-in-place. “Flattening the curve.”  Tremendous changes have been visited upon higher education in the blink of an eye. Even in the face of uncertainty and upheaval, many AACRAO professionals are discovering an opportunity to recommit to the mission of serving students.  But how and when do we alter our practice to accommodate this new normal? How can our policies and values guide us to meet this new challenge? What are others doing?  

Preserving institutional integrity & promoting student success

In this unprecedented situation, AACRAO is developing guidance using established standards and best practices re-envisioned through the pandemic lens, as well as consulting with subject matter experts from our membership and Board of Directors. 

Though higher education administration tends to move at a more deliberate, circumspect, and “institutional” pace (often with good reason), this guidance is evolving in a more ad hoc way to meet the immediate professional needs of our members. The goal is to develop practice recommendations that are thorough and thoughtful—and adequately responsive to this rapidly-developing situation.

Toward that end, AACRAO’s April 3 webinar Coffee Break addressed Admissions & Transfer Crisis Practices. (Stream it here.) 

Admissions & transfer guidance 

In that webinar, practitioners from the University of Florida, the University of Baltimore, and the Borough of Manhattan Community College, along with AACRAO staff, discussed current admissions and transfer issues and offered institutional perspectives. Additionally, they shared a wealth of relevant resources, including:

• “Medical Outbreaks on Campus,” Chapter 6 of Student Displacement: A Guide for Higher Education Administrators. This chapter is currently available as a free download. 

• “Inclusive Admissions Policies for Displaced and Vulnerable Students.” Originally intended to address refugee crises, the lessons and practices in this report are applicable to any crisis situation where documentation is a challenge.

• Weekly snapshot impact surveys from AACRAO Research. These rapid-response surveys, mailed to members each week, will help practicioners get a sense of how colleagues are responding and if and how practices are changing. Read the results of the first survey, “Impact of COVID-19 on grading, transcripts, and commencement,” released last week.

• Guidance on the Evaluation of Transfer Credit from Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 Impacted Terms.

• Guidance on Admissions from Novel Coronavirus COVID-19 Impacted Terms.

Find profession-specific resources on the COVID-19 Crisis Practice Guidance page.

Join future Coffee Breaks

Held on Fridays at 2PM eastern, Coffee Breaks have been incredibly popular with our members, so reserve your seat now. 

Upcoming topics include:

April 10—Testing Services Roundtable 

April 17—COVID-19 & Commencement

Or stream previous webinars:

March 27—Academic Policy in Crisis Situations

April 3—Admissions & Transfer Crisis Practices

• Admissions and Recruitment
• Transfer and Articulation

• covid-19