For colleges, uncertainty from COVID-19 makes it nearly impossible to plan for a fall semester

BOSTON — Colleges and universities across Massachusetts are faced with the reality of planning for an uncertain fall 2020 semester.

For schools across the state, that includes the potential scenario of a fall semester without students on campus.

Many institutions are already having to plan out budgets and logistics without knowing what the public health situation will be by then. If students are allowed to return to campuses under the state’s rules on large gatherings, there’s still a question of whether international students will be allowed entry into the United States.

Harvard University has already moved its summer programs to an online setting and is also freezing salaries as well as forgoing new hires.

Emptied out campuses have already translated into a financial drain for colleges and universities as many continue to accommodate those who didn’t have anywhere to go this semester.

A Northeastern spokesperson told Boston 25 News that a “small number of students” received permission to remain on campus due to special circumstances, including significant hardship.

An MIT spokesperson said roughly 220 undergraduate students and 1,500 graduate students remain on campus.

According to a Harvard spokesperson, more than 400 graduate and undergraduate students remain in residence halls. Students who remain on Harvard’s campus are each in a one bedroom/one bathroom living arrangement to help reduce risk.

There’s approximately 900 students still living on BU’s campus and 300 on BC’s campus.

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