The effect of smart campus on the low infection rate in the post-pandemic era

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has brought much attention to contactless services. Therefore, strengthening the construction of artificial intelligence in universities and improving the level of campus intelligent construction could reduce the infection rate of COVID-19 to a certain extent. The sudden outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has posed severe challenges to university governance and campus safety; however, it has also created a good opportunity to promote the construction of smart campuses. Based on the questionnaire survey method, this paper uses the structural equation model as the methodology to verify whether smart campuses of colleges and universities could achieve a low infection rate in the post-pandemic era. The study findings were: (1) A great correlation was observed between the construction of smart campuses and the realization of the low infection possibility of the campus. The more effective the university's smart campus is, the more likely it is to achieve its low infection rate target; (2) The core intermediary transmission mechanism of the management using smart campuses is informatization. Symmetry improves information processing efficiency to reduce security risks; (3) Although smart campuses in colleges and universities in the post-pandemic era could achieve a low infection rate to a certain extent, still deficiencies exist encouraging further development. Thus, the construction of smart campuses should be promoted by raising awareness, setting up a special management department, and improving information utilization.