Online Program

Using Data to Fight a Pandemic Locally: Development and Use of COVID-19 Metrics (310002)

Keywords: data-driven decisions, COVID-19 metrics, collaboration

Facing the COVID-19 pandemic, Cornell College, a midwestern residential campus of ~1000 students, turned to data to guide decisions regarding safe repopulation and in-person learning. Seeing a need to analyze high quality and historical data, in a matter of days the student authors shifted from biochemical lab work to remote collaboration with a chemist and a statistician to compile available public health data. We created a database, updated nightly, to characterize the local spread of the disease, use of medical resources, and severity of COVID-19. Collaborating with campus administrators, county/state public health officials, and the campus health center we devised and curated original metrics to form an accurate, customized view of the pandemic. Each week we produced accessible graphs, tables, and reports for the administration outlining the current state of the pandemic on the local, state, and national level. This year-long project influenced a wide-spread, transformative community experience through improving data and communications; successfully maintaining campus safety, and creating meaningful relationships when they were needed most.