A novel interval-valued spherical fuzzy CODAS: Reopening readiness evaluation of academic units in the era of COVID-19

Combinative distance-based assessment (CODAS) is a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method that is based on the Euclidean and Hamming distances of alternatives from the average scores of attributes. Spherical fuzzy sets, as the recent extensions of ordinary fuzzy sets, were developed based on Pythagorean and neutrosophic sets and enable decision-makers to express their membership, non-membership, and hesitancy degrees independently and in a larger domain than most other fuzzy extensions. This paper proposes a new interval-valued spherical fuzzy CODAS method and provides extra space for catching the vagueness in the nature of the problem. The feasibility and practicality of the proposed model are illustrated with an application for evaluating the reopening readiness of academic units for campus education in the era of COVID-19. Three decision-makers from a higher education institution evaluate four academic units with respect to five strategic criteria and prioritize them according to their readiness levels for the campus type of education. Sensitivity and comparative analyses, theoretical and practical contributions, limitations, and future research avenues are also presented in the study.