Summer 2020 COVID-19 Planning and Self-Assessment Guide for Higher Education

The “COVID-19 Planning Guide and Self-Assessment for Higher Education” was developed through a collaborative effort by leading organizations including Tuscany Strategy Consulting, The Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security and The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA). Together, these partners formed the OpenSmartEDU initiative to support colleges and universities in navigating the operational and public health challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

This guide serves as a strategic roadmap and self-assessment tool to help institutions evaluate their preparedness and to adapt campus operations to ensure health, safety, and academic continuity.  The guide is organized into key planning areas:  testing, contact tracing, academic delivery, housing, operations, and communication, all with structured prompts and checklists to guide institutional planning. 

This tracker monitors the COVID-19 related actions of over 1,000 colleges and universities for the Fall 2020 semester. Viewers can filter and sort the data by school size, state, and response type to study the response of peer groups to COVID-19.

“The goal of this guide is not to prescribe a single pathway, but to help institutions think comprehensively and make informed, context-specific decisions to protect their communities.”

— André Le Duc, Associate Vice President & Chief Resilience Officer, University of Oregon

Key Features:

• A comprehensive self-assessment framework organized across 8 critical planning dimensions.
• Detailed guidance on public health mitigation, including PPE, distancing, sanitation, and outbreak response.
• Emphasis on inclusive planning that considers the needs of vulnerable populations and ensures equity.
• Promotes data-informed decision-making, scenario planning, and alignment with public health authorities.
• Designed as both a crisis response guide and a long-term resilience model for higher education institutions.

This document empowers higher education leaders to make thoughtful, context-sensitive decisions and to align institutional responses with evolving public health realities.