Here's my take as a university prof...
1) I do not think having classes on campus is very wise, particularly for large R1 universities in hot spot states. I teach at one, and students may follow guidelines during the day, but during the evenings and off campus, I doubt they will. Magical thinking in May and June have painted us in a corner. I hope my universities lawyers are good, because they're probably going to need them. I know people in their early 30s who have the 'Rona, and it sounds awful.
2) The smart move would have been to announce that all classes were online for the Fall back in May, and then opened the dorms to students who do not have accommodations good enough for online learning, learning disabilities, and athletes only. Every university has armies of administrators with b@#$**** jobs. They have the labor pool to evaluate students' situations on a case-by-case basis.
They also have CARES act money to make up some of the losses in revenue from dorms and their other financial entanglements. Ours is paying $1.2m to buy out local hotels to use as quarantine facilities. Wasted money if you ask me. That could have bought a chromebook for every incoming freshman.
I feel dirty for saying this, but I agree with Saban here. If they had made the call to go online, it would have been easier to keep athletes safe, the regular student body from turning into a giant COVID party, and we could have had sports.
I can hear my old man telling me "if you do sh!t right the first time, then you don't have to deal with bull$!t later."
Instead, students started moving in today. They don't have class until Monday. Do people really think they're just going to sit in their rooms and make TikToks?