Purpose: To examine the pandemic response plans of institutes of higher education (i.e., colleges and universities), including COVID-19 prevention, enforcement, and testing strategies.
Method: Data from the largest public (n = 50) and private (n = 50) US institutes of higher education were collected from October 30 to November 20, 2020.
Results: Most institutes of higher education (n = 93) offered some in-person teaching in the Fall 2020 semester; most adopted masking (100%) and physical distancing (99%) mandates. Other preventive strategies included on-campus housing de-densification (58%), classroom de-densification (61%), mandated COVID-19-related training (39%), and behavioral compacts (43%). Testing strategies included entry testing (65%), testing at regular intervals (32%), population sample testing (46%), and exit testing (15%). More private than public institutes implemented intercollegiate athletics bans, behavioral compacts, and suspension clauses for noncompliance.
Conclusions: Variability in COVID-19 prevention and testing strategies highlights the need for national recommendations and the equitable distribution of sufficient pandemic response resources to institutes of higher education.
Keywords: COVID-19; COVID-19 testing; College; Health policy; IHEs; Institutes of higher education; Pandemic response; Public health; Universities; Young adult.
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