Colleges prepared for return of students

Colleges in Shanghai are ready to receive more than 700,000 students in staggered schedules from now to the end of October for the new semester with strict pandemic prevention measures in place, local education authorities said on Wednesday.

“As colleges are resuming full-scale operations this semester, they will have more students on campus than last semester when only graduates and others who needed to stay on campus for research and experiments returned,” said Chen Hua, director of Shanghai Education Commission’s sport, health and art division.

Chen said the density of students and seasonal diseases will put more pressure on colleges and the commission had issued guidance for colleges working out their own plans for the new semester under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Local colleges have made preparations to welcome students back and worked out emergency handling schemes, such as occurrence of fever cases.

“All the faculty and students who got a fever should go to a nearby fever clinic as soon as possible and receive tests and treatments accordingly,” said Chen. “They can return to campuses only when they have recovered and their applications for return are approved. If suspected or diagnosed COVID-19 cases are found, colleges will cooperate with health and disease control authorities to carry out epidemiological investigations, disinfection and health observations accordingly.”

Chen said education activities will be adjusted according to regional COVID-19 risk levels and when a region turns middle or highly risky, stricter control and prevention measures will be taken.

Zhang Xu, director of the commission’s logistics division, said college campuses will not be sealed off but irrelevant outsiders will be barred from entry. 

“Faculty and students can enter and exit with their identity certificates and normal body temperatures,” he said.

He said faculty and students who need to leave Shanghai should report to the colleges and do prevention and health management according to colleges’ requirements.

Parcel and food delivery staff, campus facility maintenance workers and other staff supporting the basic needs and operation of the colleges should register in advance and enter campuses at designated times.

Zhang said parents of new students were allowed to enter campuses in previous years, but this year they will be advised not to do so due to the pandemic.

Some universities have developed intelligent systems to manage students’ return and life on campus.

First-year students at Shanghai Jiao Tong University can register at the university's website with admission letters and then pay tuition fees, book campus services and search for learning materials online with its app called “Jiaowoban,” according to Wang Weiming, vice president of the university.

Students don’t have to register at physical booths on campus to have their identities checked as before. They can register their information and have their pictures taken by smart phones in advance. When they arrive at the university, they can head to their dorms directly and verify their identities with a self-service system, thus reducing long lines and the risk of cross infection.

The university has also developed systems for students to check seats available in canteens, nearby stops and arrival times of buses on campus, shuttle buses between the university’s campuses in Minhang and Xuhui districts and between the Minhang campus and a nearby Metro station.

Wang said the university will offer both online and offline classes in the new semester. About 400 classrooms were renovated during the summer vacation and facilities for livestream or recording videos installed so students who cannot return to the campus can learn along with those on campus.

Tongji University has developed an intelligent system to design staggered returning schedules for students based on their health condition, travel history and academic status.

“Students can now report their health conditions as well as apply to enter and leave the university within the system,” said Wu Jiang, vice president of the university. “If they stop reporting their health condition for two days or leave Shanghai, the validity of their campus cards will be cancelled and they need to apply for approval again if they want to enter the university.”