Harvard University's Widner Library in 2007. Photo courtesy of Joseph Williams / CC BY 2.0

Access to COVID-19 testing will be a critical piece of how college and universities repopulate campuses in Massachusetts, according to a reopening framework released Wednesday by a group of 14 college presidents.

Gov. Charlie Baker’s four-phase reopening plan calls for higher education institutions to each craft their own individual reopening plans. According to a message Worcester Polytechnic Institute President Laurie Leshin sent to Baker’s reopening advisory board, the presidents intend their framework to be used as a basis for institution-specific plans.

Massachusetts is in the first phase of it reopening process, in which colleges and universities are allowed to bring staff back to research laboratories and clinics. The presidents envision on-campus student programming resuming “on a small scale” in phase two, with social distancing and masks.

Phase three would allow for “[c]areful, larger-scale repopulation of campuses…possibly in conjunction with the start of the new academic year,” but only if public health metrics used to measure the scope of the pandemic continue to trend in a positive direction and sufficient tests and protective equipment are available. Phase four, a “new normal” of campus life, hinges on widespread availability of a vaccine or treatment for COVID-19, or herd immunity being achieved.

The number of students who return to campus this fall could have implications for the rental markets in and around the state’s many higher education institutions.

The group’s report flagged “flexible strategies” for moving students back into dorms in phase three, including lowering occupancy and organizing students into “households.” To otherwise allow for distancing, it suggests moving smaller classes to larger spaces, using shifts or to-go meals in dining halls, and a mix of in-person and remote learning.

Reflecting an expectation that “large numbers of tests will be needed for the higher education community,” Wellesley College President Dr. Paula Johnson will chair a working group on testing to develop protocols for colleges and universities. The report said schools must also develop protocols on contact tracing, quarantining and isolation.