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* From the U of I…
Dear faculty, staff and students:
We write today to share new policies for the University of Illinois System and its universities in Urbana-Champaign, Chicago and Springfield, all designed to protect the health and welfare of our students, faculty and staff amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The proactive policies are focused squarely on doing our part to help curb the virus. Fortunately, there have been no confirmed cases among our faculty, staff and students. But such cases have been increasing in Illinois and our experts say early intervention is the best option to limit the spread.
Our policies will adopt best practices endorsed by state and national health officials by minimizing face-to-face exposure in classrooms and other types of large gatherings, and by limiting international and domestic travel. They were developed with guidance from the leading-edge healthcare experts across our universities, who have been consulting daily with a leadership team composed of the president, the chancellors and the provosts from all three universities. We will continue to monitor the outbreak and stay in constant contact with the Governor’s Office, the Illinois Department of Public Health, local health departments, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other universities around the state and the nation.
The new policies were carefully crafted to safeguard our students, faculty and staff without compromising the world-class education and the groundbreaking research discovery that are synonymous with the U of I System. They are:
Instruction
Courses at each of our three universities will immediately begin migrating to online or alternative delivery mechanisms to provide the social distancing that helps limit transmission of the virus, with a goal of completion by March 23. Classes will be held at their currently scheduled times.
Online and other alternative learning methods will continue until further notice, but our expectation is that it will be temporary and students will be updated regularly via email and updates on system and university websites.
Students have the option of studying remotely from home or from their campus residence after spring break.
Our campuses will remain open and ready to serve students, including residence and dining halls.
Each university will provide specific guidance for their students regarding both academic and housing arrangements.
Faculty and staff will continue their work on campus, including research, and human resources offices will provide guidance for work conditions that foster safety and for employees who suspect exposure or infection and must self-quarantine.
EventsEvents with more than 50 attendees that are university-sponsored or hosted by registered student organizations will be suspended indefinitely, effective Friday, March 13.
Events may occur via livestream or other telecommunications, or be postponed to a future date.
Please check with each university for specific guidance.
TravelAll university-sponsored international travel is prohibited, along with non-essential domestic travel until further notice.
Personal international travel is strongly discouraged, and we urge caution and the exercise of good judgment for personal domestic travel.
Leaders of our three universities will share further information for how these policies will be implemented to address the specific educational and safety needs of their campus communities. UI Hospital and clinics will provide additional protocols to address the unique needs in providing care for their patients.We recognize the many challenges this will create for our students, faculty and staff. We pledge to do everything in our power to support you during this temporary move to safeguard your health and the health of people in the communities we call home.
Our policies are rooted in our expert scientific knowledge base and exhibit an abundance of caution to take care of each other until the COVID-19 outbreak eases. We are all in this together, and appreciate your support and understanding.
Sincerely,
Tim Killeen, President, University of Illinois System
Barbara J. Wilson, Executive Vice President and Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Illinois System
Robert J. Jones, Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Michael D. Amiridis, Chancellor, University of Illinois at Chicago
Susan J. Koch, Chancellor, University of Illinois at Springfield
posted by Rich Miller
Wednesday, Mar 11, 20 @ 7:32 pm
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Previous Post: ISU extends spring break, switches to online instruction, closes down university housing
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I think this is a bit more responsible than sending all of the students home. IF they work on keeping the residence halls clean.
Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Mar 11, 20 @ 8:05 pm
My youngest daughter is an SIUE undergrad, and she just texted SIUE has extended spring break until March 22nd.
Comment by K Man Wednesday, Mar 11, 20 @ 8:31 pm
I’m a little skeptical of the keeping halls open. In theory that puts freshmen students in a residence hall nearly 24/7.
Comment by Anon Wednesday, Mar 11, 20 @ 8:37 pm
Cuomo contracted with a private firm for testing.
Comment by Not a Billionaire Wednesday, Mar 11, 20 @ 8:56 pm
SIUC is extending break as well.
Kicking everyone off campus is fine. Pretending that the learning experience will be anywhere near equivalent is foolish. Most students did not take their books, etc. home. You cannot really have labs and other experiences on-line. Universities that choose to shut down should consider extending the semester by a few weeks…
Comment by Pot calling kettle Wednesday, Mar 11, 20 @ 9:26 pm
Unbelievable
Comment by Corona no lime Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 2:58 am
They will all have made similar announcements by end of today. This is a coordinated response. Extended breaks, classes resuming online only. The only variation will be who closes dorms and who leaves them open.
Comment by DownStateGrl Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 7:53 am
-I’m a little skeptical of the keeping halls open.-
They have thousands of international students who have nowhere else to go. They have no choice. At least the dorms should be far less populated.
Comment by Ron Burgundy Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 8:21 am
To clarify, UIUC has asked all students to go to their permanent home. Dorms will remain open for those who cannot or who lack adequate resources to take classes from their home.
Comment by Anon Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 8:36 am
Smart and prudent, both.
The health, right now, of the student body, the town, the administration, that should be the greatest concern and that’s what we are seeing here.
Comment by Oswego Willy Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 9:08 am
@Pot calling kettle - Spring Break starts tomorrow, the students were warned earlier in the week to take everything they needed with them, and we’re not going to be done with this by June or July.
Comment by Michael Feltes Thursday, Mar 12, 20 @ 4:59 pm