Washington State University announced Wednesday it would be moving all classes, including those at the Vancouver campus, online after spring break due to ongoing concerns about the new coronavirus.
Effective March 23, all face-to-face classes, testing and advising will be done online only. The move online will likely last until the end of the semester in May, university spokesman Phil Weiler said.
According to WSU’s website, training has been underway since March 5 to help faculty prepare for the move online.
“We have a whole team of people whose job it is to train faculty members to convert their face-to-face curriculum to an online format in a relatively smooth transition,” Weiler said.
At WSU Vancouver, the library and computer labs will remain open, according to an announcement from Chancellor Mel Netzhammer. The campus is also working to provide loaner laptops to students who may need them.
In Pullman, residence and dining halls will remain open. Weiler noted there are international and homeless students living in dormitories that don’t readily have somewhere else to go.
“It’s important for us to be able to keep those facilities up and running,” he said.
Weiler did not immediately have information on how many Vancouver-area students live on the Pullman campus.
About 31,600 students attend WSU, 3,585 of whom are enrolled at the Vancouver campus.
The University of Washington and other Seattle universities announced Friday it would move classes online until at least the end of the winter quarter.
This story will be updated.
Source: https://www.columbian.com
Be First to Comment