Millions of students are heading back to college for their third full academic year since the COVID pandemic hit. But as students move into their dorms and sign up for classes this year, things are different.
On many campuses, the masking restrictions are gone. Classes are being held in-person, testing requirements are loosening, and quarantine and isolation dorms have been returned to regular housing. College officials say the goal of easing these restrictions is to try and get students back to a more typical college experience.
“I don’t think we can just forget about COVID at all,” says Lisa Pearlman, the director of student health services at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts. “But I do think we can kind of live with COVID for the first time and still do all of the other normal things. And that feels really different about this year than the past two.”