EAST LANSING, MI — Effective immediately Michigan State University is transitioning to online classes due to the threat of coronovirus. No face to face instruction will be alllowed on campus through April 20th.
MSU’s move is an effort to keep the coronavirus from spreading. Students are being encouraged to move back home even though residence halls will remain open.
MSU President Samuel L. Stanley released a letter to staudents and employees this morning:
“During this time period, students doing purely remote work can return to their permanent place of residence and we strongly encourage this because there are advantages for social distancing. But for those not able to go home, we will continue to fully support students in our residence halls and dining facilities. Regardless of where our students are, we encourage them to practice appropriate social distancing and enhanced preventative public health measures such as those we’ve previously discussed in our communications.”
He continued, “The campus will remain open during this period. However, the university is evaluating large events already scheduled, many that are associated with outside groups and organizations. We will provide more information soon and urge everyone to consider the health implications of large gatherings and evaluate the essential nature of the events. We will not be scheduling new events with more than 100 individuals in a confined space during for this time period unless there are special circumstances.”
Stanley said the coronavirus situation is evolving daily. “Providing fully remote learning for so many disparate classes will be an enormous task, and I am very grateful for the faculty, staff and students who are working around the clock to get this done. We won’t get everything right the first time, and I appreciate your understanding and continued cooperation in the coming days as the university works through needed changes and modifications to these plans,” he said.
