Conceding Defeat — for a Semester After Katrina

Tulane University announced Friday and Loyola University on Sunday that they would not open for the fall semester in the wake of the damage of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. The universities’ announcements came as leaders of key higher education groups issued guidelines for colleges to use in helping students unable to attend college in New Orleans.

Other colleges in New Orleans may well be forced to make similar decisions. And academic meetings scheduled to take place in New Orleans during the next few months are being moved or called off. But a number of other colleges that suffered damage from Katrina are announcing plans to re-open for this semester.

Meanwhile, colleges nationwide continue to offer slots to students — and in some cases, faculty members — displaced by Katrina.