Test 2

I've worked in the Undergraduate Admissions Office at Penn State for more than ten years now. In that time, I have had the distinct honor and pleasure of presenting to students, families, and high school counselors about the college search process - and Penn State specifically. Giving presentations has long-been one of my favorite parts of the gig, but with the whole world working remotely these days, we have had to move our presentations into a virtual format. With all of the other things that have been swirling about, I have not had the opportunity to give any presentations in the last couple of weeks.

The Penn State admissions community hosted a webinar on Thursday last week and invited high school counselors from around the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania - and beyond - for a question-and-answer session regarding the impacts of COVID-19.

Yours Truly got to host the event (yay!), and hopefully provide some clarity for our partners in the counseling community. Here's a screenshot of the beginning of the presentation:

That's me, in my living room, in the upper-right-hand corner of the screen

We covered a whole host of topics ranging from where people can find resources and information about how Penn State is responding to the coronavirus pandemic to how schools moving to a pass/fail grading system for spring semester will have impacts on this year's seniors (as well as juniors, sophomore, etc. for the coming years).

Look, the remainder of this admissions cycle is going to be tough for students, families, and high school counselors (not to mention those of us on the higher ed side of the desk). The overall message that I tried to convey to our counseling colleagues was that - regardless of circumstances - we want to work with students in being flexible. We know that things are strange right now, and likely will be for some time to come.

We ended on an open Q&A forum for the counselors so that folks could ask whatever they wanted. It is my hope (and the shared hope of my colleagues that participated with me) that the webinar was helpful, even if the answers to several of the questions was, "I don't know, but we're working on it".

Our team will be hosting another event this coming week and it is my hope that we'll have even more answers to the questions posed by our friends "across the desk".

Now that we've been in this living secluded/self-isolation/working remotely for a few weeks, the daily chatter around my house has started to change. While the conversation still includes concerns for health and safety, we have also started to realize some of the benefits (hopefully?) of this whole social distancing thing.

Case in point, Mother Earth seems to be doing some healing as a result of us all staying the f**k at home:

“Nitrogen dioxide is produced by fossil fuel burning and therefore often used as an urban pollution tracer,” Barbara Dix, an atmospheric researcher at the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder, told Earther in an email. “Burning fossil fuels directly emits a lot of nitric oxide and a little nitrogen dioxide (often referred to as NOx together), but the nitric oxide is rapidly converted into nitrogen dioxide in the atmosphere. Nitrogen dioxide can easily be measured by satellite.”

Given that fossil fuels power everything from cars to electricity, nitrogen dioxide satellite imagery really does show the impact covid-19 is having on society like no other dataset. There are clear signs of the virus’ impact all around the world, and we’ll dive into some U.S. examples below. But it’s also important to note a few small caveats as you scroll around the map and look at the before and after images.

The data presented here is a series of single-day snapshots. Weather patterns can blow pollution around and disperse it while rain and even the level of sunshine can further change readings taken by Sentinel-5P. There are also natural sources of nitrogen dioxide that can affect readings. The data in Google Earth Engine isn’t necessarily quality filtered. Dix noted that means clouds can mess with readings, which may be why on the interactive map there are some rougher-looking areas like northern New England in March or signs of pollution in the Seattle area where there may not be much. It will take researchers time to really dive into the data and filter it to get a fine-scale understanding of covid-19's impact on air pollution. Despite these caveats, the trends in many major cities around the U.S. are staggering and clearly at least in part tied to the changes forced by the covid-19 pandemic.

“The rapid decrease we see in nitrogen dioxide due to covid-19 is unprecedented,” Dix said. “We are now witnessing a global experiment where one emission source is rapidly turned down (NOx), while other sources are still up or will decrease more slowly. A lot of atmospheric science will come out of this.”

...and for those of us in the northeastern United States:

The populous area stretching from Boston to Washington, DC, is the epicenter of the U.S. coronavirus outbreak and also a hub of economic and political activity. It’s also an area where states and cities have moved quickly to shut down non-essential services to slow the virus’ spread.

Though New Yorkers aren’t as car-dependent as their Los Angeles counterparts, there are still plenty of vehicles normally on NYC roads and dense clusters of buildings emitting pollution. Ditto for Boston, Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Washington, which normally form a daisy chain of pollution along Interstate 95. With covid-19 lockdowns, the chain has been broken.

Just check out the satellite comparison:

grabbed from Earther, click to embiggen

Positively shocking, awesome, and inspirational - all at the same time! And that satellite imagery only represents a span of about 60 days.

Check out the rest at Earther, where you can do the same comparison for anywhere on the planet. China is especially interesting...

Note:

Please don't misunderstand; I am not trying to make light of the situation here. I completely recognize that there are people - lots of people - that are sick. Some of whom are dying due to illness. Many people are out-of-work due to coronavirus. My heart certainly aches for anyone whose health and/or well-being has been impacted by this pandemic.

Rather, like many people, I am making an effort to find positive things that will come to be as a result of this highly negative situation. The healing of the earth is one H U G E positive in this.

Late yesterday big news broke about the University of California system, and how they will respond to the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 crisis:

The University of California announced Wednesday that it will greatly ease some admission requirements for fall 2020 and beyond by eliminating SAT test scores and minimum grades, saying that “grave disruption” to schools during the coronavirus crisis calls for maximum flexibility in evaluating students.

The move, authorized by UC Board of Regents leaders, will relax the admissions process for more than 200,000 prospective freshmen and transfer students who annually apply to the UC system’s nine undergraduate campuses but are now studying under dramatically different — and, for many, highly stressful — circumstances.

Those students may not meet UC admission requirements this year because their high schools or community colleges have shifted to online instruction with varying degrees of success, pass/fail grading systems or reduced course offerings.

In addition, standardized test scores may be difficult to obtain because testing dates are being canceled or postponed for many required tests, including the SAT and ACT, high school exit exams and, for international students, evaluations of English-language proficiency.

More:

The Academic Senate agreed to temporarily suspend several admission regulations at the request of Han Mi Yoon-Wu, director of undergraduate admissions at the UC Office of the President. “With such grave disruption in the education system, administrators are seeking flexibility where possible under these untenable conditions,” Yoon-Wu wrote in a March 20 letter to Comeaux.

The modifications to admission requirements include:

• Suspending the letter grade requirement for the 15 prescribed college-preparatory courses completed in winter/spring/summer 2020 for all students, including UC’s most recently admitted freshmen
• Suspending the standardized test requirement for students applying for fall 2021 freshman admission.
• No rescission of student admissions offers that result from students or schools missing official final transcript deadlines. Also, admission will be honored through the first day of class until official documents are received by campuses.
• For transfer students, temporarily suspending the cap on the number of transferable units with Pass/No Pass grading applied toward the minimum 60 semester/90 quarter units required for junior standing.

Yoon-Wu noted that efforts to contain the coronavirus pandemic had caused an “unprecedented and growing number of school closures” that have forced institutions to confront myriad challenges as they have switched abruptly to remote instruction.

The uncertainty is global, she said, noting that students studying overseas might be unable to earn the credentials typically required for UC admission, as prescribed testing has been or is likely to be disrupted in such countries as the United Kingdom, Pakistan, France, Germany and Italy.

“This period of uncertainty predicated by the COVID-19 situation greatly impacts our previously assured pipeline of students to UC, which includes California resident freshmen, California Community college transfers, domestic and international nonresidents,” she wrote. “The academic verification process ... and enrollments will be notably compromised.”

All very good reasons.

Many folks were watching to see how large publics like the UC system would respond to the coronavirus situation for their future enrollment pipelines. Now that a very large domino has fallen, it will be interesting to see how many other institutions will follow that lead.

More:

Depending on how things go -- what the arc of COVID-19 is nationally or in certain regions of the country, whether physical distancing rules are still in place, etc. -- college campuses may remain off-limits to students come September. Whether that's a 5 percent likelihood, or 25 percent or 50 percent, I have no idea (I'm no Tony Fauci, and even he can't say for sure). But it's almost certainly not zero.

In such a scenario, the impact on college campuses would be enormous -- operationally, financially and otherwise.

[...]

Any decisions about the fall are multiple weeks, if not months, away, and many people aren't ready to discuss the topic, at least publicly. But some foresighted campus officials are (often quietly) exploring that possibility, and I'd like to share some early assertions (or at least hypotheses) based on those discussions.

Epcot, looking at Future World from the World Showcase, on our last trip

Given all of the shut-downs due to Novel Coronavirus, it's certainly no surprise that all of the Disney-related theme parks (as well as non-Disney attractions as well) have completely closed. I was reading the other day about the financial impact that it has on the Disney company specifically (estimates are between $20 million and $30 million lost every day that the parks are closed). /Film has an interesting post up about the impact:

Understandably, among the things taking a pause are construction projects. Walt Disney World, ever-expanding in its 43 square miles of space, has plenty of projects in the pipeline, but they’re taking a break for now. What kind of projects are affected? Well, everything from the TRON Lightcycle attraction to the Star Wars Galactic Starcruiser hotel was in some form of construction. Those projects’ original arrival dates are now pushed back to who knows when.

[snip]

Of course, who knows when the parks will be open again. California is essentially shut down for the next four weeks, and Governor Gavin Newsom has said he can imagine that shut down being doubled. In fraught times such as these, it’s especially frustrating that we can’t have escapism such as the theme parks to forget our troubles. For now, do what I’m doing: watch YouTube videos of theme-park rides, shows, and more. Listen to Disney theme-park background music. And most importantly: whoever you are, wherever you are, stay safe and healthy.

My emphasis.

On our last trip the Wife and I spent a great deal of time at Galaxy's Edge in Disney's Hollywood Studios (more about that trip here). While we greatly enjoyed the experience (and were fortunate to fit it in just before the whole planet shut down), I'm not sure that I'm ready to splurge for the Galactic Starcruiser hotel. I am disappointed that the TRON Lightcycle will be pushed back. I also imagine that the Guardians of the Galaxy feature at Epcot will also be delayed.

But back to that emphasized text in the quote. Being the Disney parks dork that I am (and that my wife is as well, for the record), I have already bookmarked several YouTube playlists to give me a Disney fix when I need it.

If you want the soundtrack that is the in-room information channel you can check out this link, or subscribe to ResortTV1 on YouTube. They post lots of a great park-related content.

Grand Avenue has - in my humble opinion - the best soundtrack in ALL of the parks. This is what I refer to as the "backlot" area at Disney's Hollywood Studios (from ABC Commissary toward Muppetvision 3D, just before you enter Galaxy's Edge). It has a funky/jazzy inspiration and includes The Meters, Lettuce, and the New Mastersounds, to name a few. You can check that out here, and also peep the Magical Soundtracks channel for other great soundtrack loops.

So, for those of us that need a quick fix of that good Disney stuff, there are a couple of resources for you regardless of how long the parks are closed.

Before zombie apocalypse movies and tv shows were all the rage, Simon Pegg and Nick Frost created what I think is the best zombie movie ever: Shaun of the Dead.

If you are unfamiliar, here's a taste of the film (and the undercurrent of humor throughout):



Because of the Coronavirus outbreak, they have taken to the Internet to update that scene, and add a bit of their sense of humor:



In the end, I too just want to have a pint and wait for this to all blow over. You?

Head nod: /Film

There has been a lot of activity in my timeline about colleges changing their business practices due to the coronavirus. Yesterday I listened to a highly relevant piece at NPR (shout-out to Elissa Nadworny) about how COVID-19 is impacting students looking to attend college. Listen here. Some good print-takeaway:

[High school senior Xander] Christou spent most of last fall like many high school seniors: researching and applying to schools. He planned to spend the spring visiting some of the campuses he was accepted to. "Online, the colleges are just names and logos and programs," he says, "nothing will compare to actually being on campus and speaking face-to-face with current students."

But with so many colleges shutting down, all of those visits have been cancelled — including one "candidate weekend" on NYU's Abu Dhabi campus that was all-expense paid. "I was very excited for that," he says, "all I had to do was pack and go to the airport." He would have gotten back home last week. The return flight, without him on it, got cancelled too.

Of course it's more than just the visits — he's waiting on his financial aid offers, too. Money, and how his family is going to pay for college, has become even more important.

Indeed. And that's why we are seeing more and more institutions pushing the May 1st acceptance date to June 1st (or later).

Like the rest of the nation world, this COVID thing is impacting everything, and college admissions is no exception. However, how colleges and universities react to the challenges that are presented are very different. The next few weeks are going to see a lot of changes in the way that institutions of higher education recruit and enroll their classes...

But instead of focusing on our business processes, we should be taking direction from the needs of the students that we are recruiting. We shouldn't be concerned with "what we have always done" or "what will enhance our yield". Rather, we should be bending over backwards to help students - even if said students decide to not attend our institution.

This is a time in history when humans should all be helping each other, and the college search process should be no different.

Is this an uneasy time? Yes. Does each day bring about even more uncertainty? Absolutely. But, as I've been saying to our team, "We need to start to be comfortable with the discomfort that these times are bringing." If we can do that, we can help students get through the process of figuring out what to do after high school graduation.

A little over two years ago my family "cut the cord" from satellite television and went full-tilt into streaming services. I've talked previously about my love/obsession with Disney Plus and we also have a subscription to Prime Video (my most recent win there is The Boys). Additionally, we share a subscription to Hulu and Netflix. One other service that I recommend is Vudu - as they have a large catalog of streaming options (though you have to occasionally sit through a commercial or two).

The Admissions Dude Mobile Command Center

Today was my first day working remotely as a result of COVID-19, and it wasn't a disaster Granted, there are still a few minutes left in my workday, but I'm feeling confident that I won't crash and burn today. (but there's always tomorrow!)

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Based on evolving federal guidance and statewide mitigation plans announced by Gov. Tom Wolf around the growing coronavirus pandemic and the global efforts underway to stop its spread, Penn State has extended the remote-delivery period for all classes through at least the spring semester. Examinations will also be administered remotely. Additionally, spring commencement ceremonies will be postponed while the University explores options for celebrating the achievements of our students. These decisions align with recommendations from the federal government that call for restricting of all gatherings of more than 10 people.

“Graduation is a significant milestone for our students and while it may not be the same as our traditional ceremony, we are committed to finding the best way possible to recognize the achievements of our graduates,” said Penn State President Eric J. Barron. “However, as the world works together to slow the spread of COVID-19, these decisions must be made with public health at the forefront along with the health and wellness of our students, faculty, staff, their families, and our local communities.”

The University will announce soon a schedule for students to return to campus to move out of their on-campus residence halls. It is essential that students know they will not be able to swipe into their on-campus residences until they receive specific information and detailed instructions regarding the schedule. This is critical to the University’s efforts to create as much social distancing as possible and maintain a low level of exposure risk to our students as well as all of our local communities.

“The University will also work with local authorities, landlords, and student leaders, where we can, to develop strategies to minimize the impact of students returning to our communities to retrieve personal belongings,” said Barron. “We encourage all students to be patient as they await further guidance and support.”

Boom. And like that, everything changes in a more long-term way.

While we haven't yet received any direction regarding staff reporting to campus for work - and when that would happen - the statement is more information about how the University will be operating in the near-term. I try to take solace in that. But, for the record, I'm not someone that likes to have a lot of uncertainty in his life. This is amplified even further in my work life.

A college friend of mine works in the service industry. His company has a tasting room in which he spends a bit of his time. Earlier this week, based on everything COVID-related, the company decided to limit the number of people in the tasting room to only two at a time. In my friend's words, "that's good for f**king business".

Indeed.

Needless to say, he's worried about both the immediate and lasting economic effects of the current crisis. More to the point: he's worried about his job. And I am too.

I have come to realize that working in higher education has some serious privileges, not the least of which is the ability to work from my house (and be able to accomplish nearly everything that I am able to do in the office). I wish that everyone had that same ability.

I guess that I should try to focus my attention on the positives right now. My co-workers don't know that I'm wearing pajama pants to meetings. I have a couple of four-legged friends at my ankles while I'm in "the office". I've got this supremely interesting, smart, and attractive woman with whom I'm sharing my workspace (aka, my wife). And - perhaps most of all - I am still employed.

I hope that the events of COVID-19 blow over without major incident, and that you and your family are weathering the proverbial storm in good health.

So, in case you hadn't heard, there has been a lot of activity related to COVID-19 (aka, the Coronavirus) in the past few days. Here at Penn State, like everywhere else, things have gotten hectic with trying to plan for working remotely (at best) or a complete shut-down of the University (at worst).