Deeper Dive Into College Planning: Disater Relief Solutions

Spring Break for many students have been hijacked by COVID - 19, and for many families this is the time of year they reconnect and take a break from the busyness of the academic year. Specifically, many high school students use this time to visit colleges to help solidify college interests in time for the August 1 application opening day.

My household, included, was one of the families looking forward to visiting a couple

colleges over the next month as we prepare to apply for colleges during the Fall. Luckily, this is a terrific opportunity to take a deeper look into the institutions your child is vetting.

Although the outbreak of COVID - 19 has been declared a pandemic, many colleges and universities have experienced a state of emergency before due to school shootings, natural disasters and even an outbreak of meningitis. "Parents (and students) this is an appropriate time to take a deeper look into how the colleges are handling disaster relief," shares Marissa Williams, Graduate Assistant at Saint Louis University.

Here are the questions Williams suggests parents and students should consider when they are sorting through this information.

• Is the institution accommodating students and their situations (providing ample time or resources to move students off campus, allowing some to stay if necessary)?

• Will they be refunding those who will not be using the universities services for the remainder of the semester.

• Are they keeping open lines of communication with parents and students?

• Are they doing what's best for the institution with little to no consideration for students?

1. A lack of options to return to campus to gather belongings.

2. Not having a contingency plan for academic instruction.

3. Displaying little to no regard for parent concern.

4. Lack of a resource page for FAQs concerning next steps for the institution.

5. Solidified plan in place to properly clean and sanitize the campus thoroughly.

We are living in unprecedented times and our children are being impacted more than ever. Keeping them encouraged and proactive is an excellent way to continue to raise resilient and responsible children because after all, they will be navigating this world without us at times.