Hofstra moves to online learning 'until further notice' due to coronavirus
On Thursday, March 12, Hofstra University sent out two announcements, notifying the community by email that all classes will shift to online instruction starting Monday, March 23, until further notice and that the test for the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) on a Hofstra student has come back negative.
The results of the student’s test came in an email, titled “Hofstra University Community Update,” that was sent out at 9:53 a.m. on Thursday.
The statement said, “While we are grateful that the student’s test came back negative for COVID-19, we are maintaining the same cautious approach to public gatherings and group interactions, as the outbreak continues in our area, to help contain the spread of the virus.”
“We anticipate that most events will be canceled,” said University Relations Assistant Vice President Karla Schuster. “Almost all other events are canceled through the end of March.”
While on-campus events are being canceled, students are advised to check with the organization that planned the event for further details. Most admissions events will be held remotely or in small groups.
The Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) announced its plan to cancel all conference and non-conference competitions for the remainder of the winter and spring sports seasons. In addition, the NCAA has announced it will be canceling the Division I Men and Women’s 2020 basketball tournaments, which the Hofstra men’s team had qualified for on Tuesday, March 10, in a 70-61 victory over Northeastern University. It would have been the Pride’s first trip to the tournament in 19 years.
At 12:04 p.m. on Thursday, students living on campus received an email titled, “Residential Student Survey - PARTICIPATION REQUIRED.” In the email, the Department of Residence Life attached a survey asking students if they intend to remain on campus and if they will be able to secure off-campus housing for the remainder of the semester.
“Hofstra is seeking to best prepare our residential community for the remainder of the semester. Should residence hall access become limited, we must determine the feasibility of residential students returning home or residing off-campus,” the email stated. “Consequently, it is imperative that you fill out the Google survey below. At this time the data collected is being used for informational purposes only.”
Several hours later on Thursday, the Hofstra community received an email titled “Hofstra University Academic & Residential Community Update,” at 3:24 p.m.
“While we are not requiring students to leave the residence halls at this time, if you are able to leave without undue hardship, we are encouraging students to vacate the residence halls during the upcoming Spring Break,” the email stated.
“Arrangements have been made to start offering all courses online, beginning at the conclusion of Spring Break on March 23 and until further notice,” the email continued.
The announcement encourages residential students to take their valuables with them, but services will be available for those staying on campus. Although the University is encouraging students to leave campus if they can, dorms will remain open during spring break. The campus dining schedule for break remains in place, but there is no schedule available yet for when online classes start on Monday, March 23.
The updated Residence Hall Guest Policy, which does not allow any guests in residence halls, will remain in place. The current policy, which went into effect on Monday, March 9, states that access to residence halls will be limited to residents of the specific building and no guests, including other students, will be allowed to visit. Additionally, some Resident Safety Representative (RSR) booths will not be staffed at all times, but Public Safety will be increasing patrols throughout the buildings.
Schuster explained that this guest policy is also a staffing and security policy in addition to a health policy. RSR booths were short-staffed, as many RSRs are students who were leaving campus during this time. There is still potential for the policy to change as the issue continues to play out.
The University will also be engaging in a deep sanitation of the campus in accordance with procedures put in place by the Center for Disease Control (CDC).“Over the next few days, and the Spring Break, our custodial staff will be hard at work further sanitizing our campus. Our custodial staff and management has gone through thorough special training, and has increased hours of operation as well as frequency and types of cleaning since the outbreak began,” the “Hofstra University Community Update” email stated.
Students should expect to hear from their individual professors with the next steps for moving to online classes. Students with concerns over access to technology and internet are advised to directly reach out to their dean or the provost's office, Schuster said.
“All administrative offices are open, and we intend to keep them open,” Schuster said. All employees, including student employees, are advised to check in with their supervisors and determine whether or not to report to work.
As the COVID-19 pandemic has created an atmosphere of uncertainty at Hofstra and across the country, it is the University’s hope to return to “normal operations.” The Hofstra University Coronavirus Task force is still working on a plan for what will happen after spring break.
As of Friday, March 13, New York state has a total of 421 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, 51 of which are in Nassau County.
“While our goal is to return to normal operations as soon as the public health situation improves, we have seen rapid changes occur in the past week and we are in the midst of uncertainty,'' the University said in a statement. “Know that even as we try to adapt to less-than-ideal circumstances, our actions are consistent with many of our peer institutions and the guidance of public health officials.”
Photo Courtesy of CDC
