Questions of whether college life can return to normal by the fall semester has administrators creating contingencies for what campus life might look like in a post-pandemic world, but some experts say the thought of bringing thousands of students back so soon is “naive.”

“It would seem naive to not at least plan for the possibility that (a fall semester) won’t happen,” said John D. Villasenor, a professor of electrical engineering, law, and public policy at the University of California at Los Angeles.

“The earthquake for higher education — as big as it has been in the last month or so — will be much bigger if colleges and universities don’t go back in the fall,” Villasenor continued.

Universities from coast to coast remain cautiously optimistic that students can return to campuses in September, but many are exploring a variety of possibilities.

A recently released Boston University plan to reopen the campus following the coronavirus pandemic recognizes the possibility that the fall semester could be delayed or canceled altogether. Still, university spokesman Colin Riley said on Monday that “the BU administration is focused on returning to in-person, on-campus academic, residential, research, and business operations for the fall semester. That is our goal.”

A Harvard University spokesman said the Cambridge college “is looking at a range of scenarios, but not yet in a position to discuss anything beyond that.”

Harvard University President Lawrence Bacow last week told Harvard Magazine, “My fear is that at the point at which we have to make the choice, there will still be a tremendous amount of uncertainty.”

At Fordham University in New York, spokesman Bob Howe said “We are cautiously optimistic about resuming regular face-to-face instruction in September, again depending upon the advice of public health authorities.”

New York University spokesman John Beckman said NYU “expects” to resume classes and campus operations in the fall “as normal, or as close to normal as possible, given all that has transpired.”

Colleges and universities were among the first organizations to react as the coronavirus pandemic escalated in March. Campus after campus emptied dorm rooms and moved classes online — first until the end of spring break and then through the end of the school year. Many have also now canceled summer activities and moved those classes online as well.

Villasenor said whether or not campus life resumes, it will likely look much different from the campuses of earlier this year. The 300-person freshman lecture — for example — might become a thing of the past, at least in the early days as the country slowly emerges from the extremes of social-distancing and shutdowns.