Coronavirus Concerns Lead VA Colleges To Move All Classes Online

VIRGINIA — Most Virginia universities are moving classes online due to the spread of the new coronavirus, or COVID-19. UVA was the first Virginia school to announce the move, telling students and staff on Wednesday that it would not be holding classes on campus for the foreseeable future and "quite possibly through the end of the semester."

Other schools, including Virginia Tech, George Mason University and the University of Mary Washington, announced Wednesday their own plans to switch to online instruction. Northern Virginia Community College also announced Wednesday that it is preparing a transition to online classes at all of its campuses in the region for at least several weeks in light of the outbreak.

The Virgina schools are among more than 100 universities nationwide and counting that are moving their classes online to contain the coronavirus outbreak. Across Virginia, D.C. and Maryland, there are now 33 confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

UVA students are currently on spring break and were scheduled to return to class on Monday. The university on Wednesday "strongly encourged" students who are away on spring break to return home or to remain home if they are already there. Students who stayed on campus or in Charlottesville for spring break were strongly encouraged to return home by this weekend.

Online classes will begin at UVA on March 19. The university said it will reassess the situation after April 5 at the earliest and periodically after that date. UVA is prohibiting events with more than 100 people for the foreseeable future and is suggesting events be held virtually if possible.

"These are obviously significant steps that will cause disruption and disappointment, which we all regret," UVA President Jim Ryan said Wednesday in a letter to the university community.

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UVA still does not have a confirmed case of COVID-19 on campus and there are no confirmed cases in the Charlottesville area. "Given that fact, the easiest and least disruptive option would have been to bring all students back to Grounds as planned and hope to make it through the rest of the semester without a confirmed case. We also considered bringing students back and moving only large classes online," Ryan said.

But after talking with medical experts and as the evidence of the spread in Virginia and abroad mounted, the university said it believes these approaches would not be sufficient and would create too much risk, especially for the university's health system and the medical center, which is a Level 1 trauma center and "may be stretched to the limits in the coming weeks and months."

"Experts have also told us that the best time to take steps to prevent that spread is now, before the first case arrives," Ryan said.

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According to Ryan, the university's approach is guided by three goals: protect the health of students, faculty, staff and Charlottesville residents; help slow the spread of the virus in Virginia and the nation; and ensure the continuity of teaching, research and clinical care.

At Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, the school said Wednesday it is transitioning to online and remote instruction (Zoom, video, and other forms of delivery) for all undergraduate and graduate students for the remainder of the spring semester.

In order to provide time for students and faculty to make this transition, spring break will be extended to March 22 and online classes will resume on March 23. The Blacksburg campus will remain open after spring break ends. However, starting March 23, students will take their courses online, the university said.

George Mason University said Wednesday it is extending its spring break by an additional week through March 20. "This will allow students and faculty to prepare for virtual alternative instruction and reduce close contact on campus," GMU said.

When spring break ends, most classes will be conducted through "virtual alternative instruction," from March 23 through April 3, the university said. Students will be contacted by their faculty with additional details about virtual learning. If an extension of virtual learning is needed past April 3, GMU said it will inform the university community.

In Fredericksburg, the University of Mary Washington canceled all classes for the remainder of the week and urged students to leave the campus. "This will provide faculty and staff an opportunity to virtualize instruction and prepare to move teaching and learning online and to alternate formats beginning next week," the university said Wednesday in a statement.

All in-person class meetings will be suspended and instruction will be moving to online and alternate learning options for a three-week period beginning March 16 and continuing through April 3.

"While all in-person classes are being moved online and to alternate learning approaches, this will allow residential students to depart the campus," UMW said. "All residential students are strongly urged to return home by the end of this weekend."

James Madison University has canceled all in-person classes for the week of March 16 when students were scheduled to return from spring break. Starting March 23, university officials said most classes will be held online until at least April 5.

While residence halls at the school will reopen March 15, JMU is encouraging students not to return to Harrisonburg, including to on-campus and off-campus housing, until at least April 5.

Here are the plans for other colleges and universities in the state:

• Longwood University will be closed until March 18, canceling in-person classes and events following a presumptive positive diagnosis for a Longwood student on Wednesday. In a release, Longwood President W. Taylor Reveley said faculty would continue to prepare for the possibility of online classes.
• Norfolk State University extended spring break until March 23 and will teach classes online until April 6. University residences will reopen March 22.
• Old Dominion University will resume classes online on March 23 after an extended spring break. ODU President John Broderick said in a statement posted on Facebook that the school would monitor the situation and reassess on April 6.
• Radford University extended its spring break for an additional week and plans to teach online until April 17, according to the university’s website. The university, as most academic institutions are doing, asked that faculty, staff and students complete a voluntary travel declaration forms.
• The University of Richmond extended spring break, canceling classes from March 16-20, and will hold online classes until at least April 3. The school’s website states that students with extenuating circumstances, such as international students, can submit a petition to stay in on-campus housing although access to student services and facilities will be limited.
• Virginia Commonwealth University announced Wednesday that it will extend its spring break for an additional week. When the semester resumes on March 23, classes will be taught remotely for the “foreseeable future.” Classrooms are expected to use digital tools such as Blackboard, videoconferencing and online programs.
• William & Mary will start online classes March 23, after an extended spring break, to continue until at least April 1. University events are cancelled until April 3.
• Virginia State University announced Wednesday that it will cancel or modify all scheduled events for the next 30 days. Modifications include pre packaged options in dining halls and livestreams for events, like the Mr. and Miss VSU Pageant and student government activities.
• Christopher Newport University took a similar approach, by rerouting study abroad plans and limiting serve-served food, according to its website.

As of Wednesday, there were 938 confirmed and presumed positive COVID-19 cases in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bulk of cases are in Washington, California and New York. The infection has caused 29 deaths in the states. Worldwide, more than 118,300 people have the infection, including over 80,900 individuals living in mainland China. The outbreak has killed 4,292, reported the World Health Organization.

Maia Stanley of Capital News Service contributed to this article.

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