WSU cancels in-person classes after spring break because of coronavirus outbreak
Washington State University is following its western counterparts and moving to online classes following spring break.
University leaders made the decision Wednesday to cancel in-person classes starting on March 23 at all campuses, including WSU Tri-Cities in Richland.
There is no decision on when instruction could return to classrooms.
The decision came as COVID-19 continues to spread through the state. In Eastern Washington there were confirmed cases in Grant and Kittitas counties on Wednesday.
University of Washington already had switched to online classes for the rest of the quarter. They have been joined by Seattle University and the Lake Washington Institute of Technology.
Central Washington University announced Tuesday it will administer winter quarter finals by email to prevent in-person contact.
Classes now offered in person at all CWU sites will continue as planned through March 13, with finals starting March 17. The university said it will evaluate the coronavirus risk again when spring quarter starts March 31.
While other campuses are on the quarter system, the WSU student spring break marks the mid-point in their semester. Meaning they still have seven weeks left of classes, when they return.
Each campus can discuss with local health officials when they should switch back to in-person classes, said Phil Weiler, the university’s vice president for marketing and communications.
The campuses will remain open, including Pullman’s residence and dining halls and healthcare facilities.
Also WSU extension offices throughout the state will continue providing services. Weiler explained that those programs impact some of the most needy in every county.
Employees will still need to go to work, according to the university’s statement. Supervisors will help with employees who want to work remotely.
Preparing for weeks
University officials have been preparing for the disease’s spread for several weeks, said Weiler.
A systemwide committee has been tracking the advance of COVID-19 for six weeks. As it began to appear more imminent, they started ramping up their response.
The university started a central incident command center to handle the university’s response to the virus. The center allows the system to have a central place to coordinate the response at all five campuses.
The university, much like the local school systems, is taking their advice from the state and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In the last week specialists have been training faculty on how to use the online learning system. The training has been going on three times a day and on the weekends.
“Virtually all of our students take some online classes,” Weiler said last week. “It will represent a disruption, but we want to make sure we are as prepared as possible to minimize as many disruptions as possible.”
Online interaction between students and instructors is already part of student life, Weiler said.
Students send in their assignments through the university’s learning management system Blackboard, and faculty send messages, assignments and provide other information to students.
It will be up to faculty to inform their students about how to get the class materials.
WSU officials also set up a COVID-19 website with detailed information at wsu.edu/covid-19/.
This story was originally published March 11, 2020 at 12:04 PM.