Coronavirus: UMD Cancels Face-To-Face Courses For Spring Semester

MARYLAND — After Gov. Larry Hogan recommended the University System of Maryland close for the rest of the semester Thursday, its board decided undergraduate instruction would be done remotely through the spring term. Commencement ceremonies will be canceled to comply with the governor's order that groups of more than 10 people may not gather for events.

Each university will provide more guidance about plans for remote instruction to ensure students can fulfill their requirements and complete their work. Universities were working to find laptops and free internet service for students who did not have these tools, and the institutions were sharing technology and platforms for remote learning.

"This isn’t a break," Chancellor Jay A. Perman said in a statement on behalf of the University System of Maryland Thursday. "It’s not a respite from the semester. It’s not a party. I urge students staying in their family homes or in off-campus housing to follow the state and federal guidelines on gatherings."

For students in graduate and professional programs, the university system has not yet determined how to proceed.

"We have a different set of considerations," Perman said. "We’re working through those considerations now, and we’ll certainly need guidance from the relevant accrediting bodies and boards that provide certification."

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The chancellor said the USM Board of Regents and presidents uniformly supported the governor's recommendation that the universities shift to distance learning.

"Let’s be frank: That’s the same decision this board was moving toward," Perman said. "It’s certainly a decision that’s uniformly supported by the USM presidents. They’ve been planning for long-term remote instruction for weeks now, knowing that this was a possibility."

On March 10, officials with USM — which includes 12 universities and three regional higher education centers — asked students to prepare for an additional two weeks off campus following spring break, in an effort to stop the spread of the virus.

While plans for students to return to pick up their belongings have not been set, the chancellor said these visits would be made in shifts, between which staff will be "thoroughly disinfecting high-touch areas" such as elevators and doorways.

"I think many of us saw the coverage in the last couple days showing students celebrating spring break in Florida. And I think many of us were disturbed by it," Perman said. "So I’d like to remind all of us that we follow social distancing and self-isolating guidelines not only for our own health, but for the health of others — for those who are more susceptible to this virus than we may be, and for those who will have more difficulty recovering from it. We all need to practice good citizenship. And the way we do that during a crisis like COVID-19 is to follow the guidance of the epidemiologists and policymakers who want nothing more than to safeguard public health."

USM will refund room and board on a prorated basis and has "good guidance from the federal government that financial aid packages will not be affected by a refund on room and board," Perman said. "This means that students receiving financial aid should not have that aid reduced or clawed back because of these refunds."

Campuses are working on getting more specifics for families and students.

"It’ll come as no surprise that USM universities will not be holding traditional, in-person commencement ceremonies," Perman said. "I’ve encouraged universities to be creative in how they celebrate their graduates. Many are talking about celebrating in a virtual environment. I’d certainly also support in-person commencement gatherings once this period of COVID-19 threat has lifted."

The deadline for the tuition deposit is traditionally May 1, but the board has agreed to push that back, as well as housing deposits. When a uniform decision has been made about the deadlines, USM will release the information, Perman said.

The USM is advising laboratories to ramp down their research activities and only continue ones that are "in a critical phase, meaning that abandoning them would cause a major or irreversible loss in project viability," Perman said. "Of course, some of our research is directly related to this coronavirus pandemic, and I’m deeply proud that the USM has a significant role in finding biologic and clinical solutions to this crisis."

Overall, the chancellor said he was overwhelmed by the response to the coronavirus crisis from staff and students.

"These are uncharted waters—in teaching and learning, research, patient care and client services, and absolutely every facet of our administrative, financial, and student support operations," Perman said. "I’m overwhelmed by what I see in the University System’s people: their unparalleled dedication, their deep expertise, and their singular eagerness to help their colleagues succeed. It’s been incredibly gratifying to be part of an organization so wholly focused on the well-being of our students and on the quality of our academic enterprise. Thank you."

Related:

• MD Governor Orders Enclosed Malls To Shut, 10-Person-Plus Events Canceled
• UMD Tells Students To Prepare For 2 Weeks Off Campus After Break