The heads of four Bay Area universities — San Jose State University, UC Berkeley and Santa Clara University — on Monday announced they are joining Stanford in suspending in-person classes because of coronavirus fears.
The changes all take effect Tuesday. While classes move online, the three campuses will remain open, officials said. There are no known cases of the disease at these universities.
Stanford had made its move Friday evening, with Provost Persis Drell canceling all in-person classes for the final two weeks of the winter quarter.
Here’s the new campus-by-campus rundown:
SJSU: In-person classes will move to an online format from March 16-27. The university canceled all in-person classes for the rest of this week, from Tuesday through Friday, to give faculty and staff time to “prepare for the transition from in-person instruction to a ‘distributed’ or ‘fully online’ instruction.”
President Mary Papazian said she came to the conclusion that virtual education made sense at this time after consulting with the CSU chancellor, students, faculty and staff. “This decision is meant to slow the spread of COVID-19 in our community, reduce the potential of people being infected, and protect those who are most vulnerable to severe illness,” she wrote.
Faculty who oversee small lab or studio classes will need to apply for permission to modify their course locations to meet the limitations, Papazian said.
The Monday evening announcement was made as SJSU students were signing a Change.org petition to demand the closure. By the time of the announcement, nearly 10,000 signatures had been received.
SCU: Santa Clara University classes and final exams will take place in an online format until at least April 13, President Kevin F. O’Brien announced. All large events on campus that were scheduled between now and April 19 also will be canceled or postponed.
“Students are encouraged to go home as soon as practical,” O’Brien said. However, he added that “residence halls and dining services will stay open for those who are unable to return home.” He noted that SCU officials would offer more information about the changes Tuesday to students and their parents.
Father O’Brien added this note to students and faculty: “Clear-headed, calm, and generous in spirit, we will get through this. In whatever way you pray, please join me in remembering those around the world who have died or are sick because of the virus.”
SFSU: All in-person classes will be suspended Tuesday and resume remotely beginning March 16, said San Francisco State University President Lynn Mahoney in an advisory Monday.
Mahoney said the decision was based on an increasing number of confirmed coronavirus cases in San Francisco and a growing number of Bay Area universities that have elected to move instruction online.
“The university will re-evaluate remote instruction and services in the context of local public health recommendations and local circumstances on a weekly basis,” Mahoney said.
Mahoney said an announcement will be made March 30 whether to continue remote instruction past April 5.
UC Berkeley: In a message sent out to the campus Monday afternoon, Chancellor Carol Christ announced that most in-person classes will be suspended starting Tuesday and that the suspension will remain in place through March 29, the last day of the break.
Officials will determine what do do after spring break based on the information that becomes available in the next couple of weeks.
All lecture courses and seminar instruction and assessment will continue through alternative methods, she said. Classrooms will remain available for instructors, and those instructors may plan in-person meetings with their graduate student instructors, as well as other instructors.
Christ also said classes ready for remote learning will go online beginning Tuesday. Those that are not will be given a two-day break and will resume online instruction Thursday.
Although the campus will remain open, some campus employees may be directed to work remotely. All campus-sponsored events expected to draw more than 150 people have been canceled.
UC Berkeley also has suspended its attendance policies, and students will not be penalized for missing classes, she said. Disability accommodations will continue to be provided.
Academy of Art University: The Academy of Art University in San Francisco on Monday also said it will move all classes online from March 11 to March 30. Athletic events will continue as scheduled, but no one will be allowed to attend until further notice.
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