University of Washington too suspended their classes.
From CNN:
Spring Break starts this weekend at Princeton.
The NCAA has closed the D3 basketball championship games to spectators out of “an abundance of caution and concern for health”.
Something tells me they won’t be so concerned about everyone’s health as to close the D1 March Madness tournament from spectators…but we’ll see!
I am. My daughter is graduating in late April. This is a large state U with I’m estimating 5,000 graduates. Throw in visiting parents, siblings, grandparents, etc. and this could be a very large group of people. I would not be at all surprised if they cancelled. There are smaller department events held for graduates with that major. I’m hoping those go forward even if the big event gets cancelled.
It’s worth noting that for now Princeton is switching to online classes only for the two weeks following spring break (i.e., until April 5). They will reassess the policy as that date approaches.
@TigerInWinter Do you know how families are reading that Princeton announcement? Do you think kids will really stay home or will some choose to return after break and just take their classes online? I wonder if all buildings will be open - libraries, gyms, cafeterias. Princeton is not saying kids cannot come back.
@homerdog My gut reaction is that most students will stay on campus, but I haven’t yet spoken to any other families, or even to my own kid, who as of yesterday was still planning to take a (domestic) spring break trip. Hoping to get some clarity soon…
Washington and Stanford are on the quarter system, so they had only one week of classes left, plus final exams, for the current quarter. They advised instructors to use remote / on-line instruction for the last week if possible.
Stanford, Rice, Columbia and few other schools suspended on campus classes and activities, what’s happening at your school?
I just got this Alert from Fordham University - “Effective 1 p.m. today, face-to-face classes are suspended for the remainder of Monday, March 9, and Tuesday, March 10. (Existing online instruction will continue uninterrupted.) All residential students are encouraged to return home immediately. Beginning with the start of classes on Wednesday, March 11, faculty will teach their classes online or electronically”
@4kids4us geez. Not like everyone can hop on a plane with no notice and get home. I hope dorms and cafeterias stay open until kids can make arrangements.
@homerdog they are not closing dorms and the cafeteria is remaining open but spring break starts Friday. There have been several staff/students with known exposure who are awaiting test results so they decided to try and prevent further exposure by sending home those who are able to leave right away. They posted a long letter on their Facebook page.
@ucbalumnus Our S flew home last night and will finish classes and finals online. He said many of his friends have also left or will leave soon. Campus remains open for students opting to stay.
My S is currently on spring break but did not come home. He’s vacationing with friends. I just told him if the school moves to on line classes I want him to come home. Last place he needs to be is a college dorm, eating in a communal dining hall.
Italy is now under complete lockdown. Hopefully, if any US students were still abroad in Italy, they have already come home or at least have a good support system in place over there. It doesn’t sound like this will be fun.
Davidson announced new dining policies that will reduce ‘touchpoints’ Dining staff will serve more food directly to students, communal items like condiments will be under sneeze guards and will be frequently disinfected. They are not cancelling all events but all evaluating each and some deemed less important and/or that involve outside presenters may be cancelled or moved to virtual format. Faculty told students they’ve been told to prepare to move online , if it were to come to that…
That’s my feeling about our mid-April trip to Charleston. DS has never been there, so I’m willing to drive instead of fly so that he has the chance to see the city and hopefully do a self-guided campus tour. It’s the only school he’s considering that he’s never visited, and I want him to have as much info as he can possibly (and safely) access.
Boston College is still offering Eagle for a day as an option. At least up to this morning. One on one student hosted. If you are looking or been accepted without visiting it’s a great way to see life as a student, attend a class and get to see dorms, student life.
It seems like a much safer option right now and could be used at other schools as opposed to blanket cancellations of any chance for an enhanced visit for an accepted student trying to decide.
Just listened to the WH press briefing. Reporters asked about the amount of testing going on. They could not answer. The answer was basically they only know of the number from CDC labs and public health labs. They do not know the number from hospitals and private labs (I think that is just starting and should be minimal? Or hasn’t quite started yet?) They are working on an “IT system” as it was put several times.
I think it is very unfortunate they aren’t collecting this data. How can they have a handle on the situation without these tallies? It’s important for the here and now planning and response but also important to have for historical and study purposes.
If you can’t get a system built right away (and call on the tech industry - they could set it up quickly) then create a simple spreadsheet in the meantime and hire someone to data entry, the old school way.
It shouldn’t be this complicated.
RIce cancelled admit and Owl days today.