Colleges and universities in Western New York are planning for students to be back on campus in the fall, but how they learn and live could look much different.

"Our faculty and staff, and students most of all I think, really miss the campus environment," said A. Scott Weber, University at Buffalo provost and executive vice president for academic affairs. 

UB is the largest institution in the SUNY system with more than 30,000 undergraduate and grad students. Weber says the university and state leaders are working to make sure they can return to campus this fall.

One of the steps they're considering is testing everyone on campus for COVID-19. UB's Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and local health care systems are involved in that planning.

"Really the only way to ensure that is to be really ready to do some sort of full-scale testing across the campus that's rapid and readily available, so that we can understand the level and be able to respond very, very quickly should any arise that needs to be addressed quickly," Weber said.

What about social distancing?  Weber said dorms are likely to have fewer residents in each unit and dining halls will strategically space out meal times for individuals.

UB is also looking at ways to have fewer students in classrooms and lecture halls, staggering class times, and using more online learning along with in-person classwork. Some form of mixed-learning environments and digital supplements has worked well even prior to the pandemic, Weber added.

"So we may have to extend the day. We may start a little earlier and end a little later where we're sort of reducing the density," Weber said.

UB also has about 4,500 international students, and there are questions about travel restrictions and their ability to come back to campus in the fall. Weber said they will be welcomed back, but in the event they are unable, the university will work them on a plan for their future studies.

There are also nationwide concerns about an overall decline in college enrollment during the pandemic, Weber said.

"Some students may decide they want to take a year off and see how this settles out," he said.

A decision on how UB will handle on-campus learning is likely to come in mid-summer, a university spokesperson said.

Daemen College is planning in a similar fashion. The smaller private school has about 2,500 hundred total students.

"We're going to promote social distancing but trying to keep the friendly campus atmosphere," said Gary Olson, Daemen College President.

Olson said the school could eliminate all large gatherings, and further spread out students in dorms and dining halls. Already-small class sizes and online teaching techniques could help with social distancing, Olson said.

The college will give students a welcome back kit with personal protective equipment like facemasks, while also considering some form of coronavirus testing or symptom checks on campus.

"We're very serious about two things: The safety and health of our students, but also continuing to provide a real first class education in person," Olson said.

And what about college sports? Both Olson and Weber say it's too soon to know exactly how that will play out.

"I know the NCAA is convinced that we can still do really first-rate collegiate athletics and guard the safety and well-being of not only our athletes, but the audience members and so on," Olson said.

As for graduations that were scheduled this spring, Daemen has pushed its ceremony at Kleinhan's back to August, while UB is having virtual ceremonies right now.