Coronavirus: Stony Brook University Shifts Classes, Finals Online

STONY BROOK, NY — Stony Brook University will shift to remote instruction beginning Monday, March 23, when students return from spring break, as a result of the novel coronavirus. he move comes as "an effort to increase precautionary health measures, reduce community spread of COVID-19, and ensure the successful conclusion of the spring 2020 semester for Stony Brook University students," the school said in a statement.

All classes and finals will meet remotely at their regularly scheduled times through the end of the semester to ensure academic continuity, the university said.

Stony Brook University officials on Tuesday hadn't officially committed to shifting courses online. However, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Wednesday that all schools within the CUNY and SUNY banners — including Stony Brook — would switch to "distance learning" starting March 19.

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Most non-classroom events and large gatherings will be cancelled or postponed as of this week through March 31. But for the semester's remainder, the campus will remain open, operational and continue to provide services, according to the school. This includes academic advising, dining services, residence hall accommodations, library services, recreation programming, athletics facility services, and hospital and clinical services.

Resident students can continue to live in the residence halls and will be provided all services as usual, officials said. Accessibility needs will be addressed on a case-by-case basis in conjunction with the provost’s office and the school's Student Accessibility Support Center.

"They're not evicting anyone," the governor said at a news conference Wednesday. "They're not closing the dorms and kicking you out. They're doing distance learning. You can go home and do it by distance. You can go wherever you want and do it by distance."

The university’s business and administrative operations will remain open and athletic events will proceed as scheduled until further notice, the university said.

"Moving to distance learning was a decision that was not made lightly," Interim President Michael Bernstein said in a message to the campus community. "We did so in order to curtail large group gatherings and reduce time spent in close proximity with one another in classrooms, lecture halls, dining facilities, and campus residences. Our actions are consistent with the guidance of public health agencies on how to limit the spread of COVID-19, and it is also similar to decisions made by peer institutions."

The university will decide when to resume classes in a face-to-face format on campus pending guidance from local and regional public health agencies, the school said.

Multiple other colleges across Long Island have also closed, or are considering doing so, as the number of confirmed cases topped 1,000 in the United States, with 29 deaths. In New York, 212 people tested positive for coronavirus as of noon Wednesday.

Until Stony Brook, Adelphi University had been the latest college to announce closures due to the coronavirus. Hofstra University announced on Monday that it was canceling classes for a week. Nassau Community College cancelled classes Wednesday and Molloy College also announced it was canceling classes until March 28 out of caution.

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