SAN JUAN, P.R—As higher education associations slowly begin to return to in-person convenings, they might be wise to take note of how the Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE) has successfully planned its annual conference, attracting nearly 800 attendees to this island amid strict COVID-19 safety protocols.
Puerto Rico, which already had some of the strictest guidelines in place, has provided an extra layer of relief to those attending the academic conference for the first time since the coronavirus abruptly brought higher education meetings to a halt in the spring of 2020.
Puerto Rico has implemented severe penalties for individuals not in compliance with local mandates. In addition to the $300 fine for arriving without a valid negative test for those who are not vaccinated or traveling internationally, any passenger who does not comply with the orders and the local measures imposed by the Department of Health will be fined up to $5,000 for the first offense and up to $10,000 for additional offenses.
These aggressive efforts, including the fact that at least 73 percent of residents here are already fully vaccinated, are one of the reasons why COVID-19 has been easier to managed and why the numbers have consistently remained so low. 
Dr. D-L Stewart
“Part of us coming to Puerto Rico and working with our partners on the ground, was knowing the things they were doing to protect the island,” said Dr. Jason P. Guilbeau, executive director of ASHE, the 46-year-old organization committed to the study of higher education. “This is such a unique place and a beautiful place, but we also wanted to be responsible tourists and responsible visitors.”
This year’s conference destination had been announced four months before COVID-19 dramatically altered the landscape of higher education and forced associations like ASHE to pivot to virtual conferences last year. But with the rollout of a vaccine earlier this year and a relaxing of travel restrictions by colleges and universities across the nation, the association offered its members a unique option: an in-person conference experience or the opportunity to live-stream some sessions and watch other recorded sessions virtually.
