COVID and its affect on GLO extension

[Sciencewoman]

I'm a department chair at a large state university, and I also lead our house corp. board. Enrollment wasn't down much for fall (a little over 2%), but it's down about 10% for winter. I think we're seeing more "opt out" or reduced schedules for winter, with more intent to sit this out or take fewer classes until things return to more traditional instruction. We have a large number of older members who have indicated they'll be attending part-time in the winter (which is a loop hole for going alum early and not having to pay chapter dues or parlor fees, and with the lack of "can't miss" in-person events, isn't much of a sacrifice) and we have NEVER seen this before. PNM numbers and quota were also down this fall, with no chapters on our campus at the 2019 total levels or even close.

Universities are looking at belt tightening in the short and long term, as COVID is riding on the heels of declining high school graduation numbers. I think we're looking at compounding factors that will lead to reduced quota and total and belt tightening for many GLOs, chapters, and facilities, and I think it's going to be impacting us for some time.

I'd really like to see some strategic planning on how we're going to manage all this at the NPC and NIC level, because the impact is real. My guess is that we're not going to see many campuses who are interested in opening for expansion, because the current chapters are going to need every PNM they can get to sustain operations at current levels. If you have a facility, it's especially critical.