Communicating Risks to Foster Compliance

In regular college classes not centered on the pandemic, it is still a good idea to broach the topic of COVID-19 with students, said Jamie Howard, a senior clinical psychologist and director of the Trauma and Resilience Service at the Child Mind Institute, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting children’s mental health. “I think it will be helpful for professors to acknowledge up front that this year will require flexibility on everyone’s part. If professors can be open to personalized accommodations, that will put students at ease so they can manage all of the demands placed on them right now,” said Howard. “This is a time to balance academic rigor with compassion and flexibility.”