COVID-19 among institutions of higher learning in Kentucky: An observational study

Abstract: COVID-19 pandemic had a significant negative impact on higher learning. To investigate the impact by COVID-19 and various factors affecting infection rates, we collected COVID-19 data from institutions of higher learning across Kentucky. We also investigated factors, such as mitigation strategies, student population, housing, etc. We analyzed a subset of data collected from the Spring and Fall semester of 2021, as there was a change from virtual to in-person instruction. On examining multiple institutions located in the same cities or counties, there were several interesting findings. As expected, the total cases for a larger institution, such as University of Kentucky (UK), was higher than a smaller school such as Transylvania University (TU). However, when the cumulative infection rate (cumulative cases per 100,000) was compared, TU had a higher rate than UK. Likewise, reopening resulted in an increased infection rate for TU than UK. These differences were statistically significant. We also included data from Fayette County, of which these universities are located. UK and TU had a lower infection rate than Fayette County, possibly due to demographic differences and vaccination rate. A similar observation was true for the three major universities in Louisville/Jefferson County. Also, the top three schools with the highest cumulative infection rates had their outbreaks during their spring semester rather than their fall semester. Our results demonstrate that mitigation strategies should be designed after consideration and balancing various factors, to match the specific needs of a particular institution