As college students and professors return to campus in the midst of a pandemic, coronavirus cases are turning up by the thousands.
A New York Times survey of more than 1,500 American colleges and universities — including every four-year public institution, every private college that competes in N.C.A.A. sports and others that identified cases — has revealed at least 26,000 cases and 64 deaths since the pandemic began.
Many colleges have reported major spikes in recent weeks as dorms have reopened and classes have started.
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sent most undergraduates home after clusters popped up in campus housing. Notre Dame delayed in-person classes as students tested positive by the dozens, then the hundreds. Clemson, Baylor, Louisville and dozens of other Division I universities reported cases in their athletic departments. And at Iowa State, aggressive testing of students moving into dorms turned up scores of cases.