Higher ed expert shares insight into college life in 2020

Dua, a managing partner at McKinsey Miami, has been in communication with dozens of universities as they formulate plans for wide-ranging and multi-faceted social-distancing and safety measures. He advised students to prepare for inconveniences and approach the start of college with a spirit of openness.

“It is going to be an adventure,” he said. “That is my very positive way of looking at it.”

Dua answered questions from the audience and many posed by Head of School Penny Townsend during the Paul Ransom Digital Podium event called “The Reality of College in 2020.” He discussed schools’ efforts to reduce density in their classrooms and residential halls, add more opportunities for virtual learning, and adapt their schedules to provide longer breaks in the winter months (when some expect a resurgence in COVID-19).

A handful of schools, including those in the California state system, have announced they will conduct only remote learning the fall, but the majority are seeking to bring students back in some capacity, he said.

Dua addressed schools’ responses to students’ requests for deferrals, and their approaches to managing the financial toll of the virus. Most colleges and universities, he said, are considering at least two or three scenarios for reopening.

“It’s hard to imagine a more unprecedented change in higher education than the one we’re going through now,” he said.