Muskingum University announced Tuesday afternoon that it would be moving to an off-campus instructional format March 16-March 29 due to the coronavirus concerns.
President Susan S. Hasseler made the announcement via email to the Muskingum community at 4:10 p.m.
On-campus classes will continue as usual through Thursday, March 12. Classes will not meet Friday, March 13.
A student town hall informational meeting was held Tuesday at 5 p.m. about COVID-19. Provost Nancy Evangelista, Associate Vice President for Student Affairs Michael Malone, Interim Director of Wellness Center Sarah Dickson, and Vice President Finance & Operations and Treasurer Phil Laube presented information and answered questions about the decision to move classes online and the virus concerns.
The announcement to move to the off-campus instructional format follows a statement made by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine on March 10.
DeWine urged universities transition to remote-learning due to the recent cases of the coronavirus that were confirmed in Cuyahoga County.
“The governor’s direction is preventative, to try and prevent large groups of people from congregating, which should help ease the spread,” said Malone.
Residential students are asked to leave campus by Friday, March 13 at noon. Students exempt from this are in-season athletes, international students, students who have homes in affected areas, and other students with special reasons.
Students who stay will have access to food via Patton Dining Hall. The dining hall will have restricted hours during the two-week period.
Classes will continue online through the use of Blackboard educational technology. Students who have clinicals will continue to fulfill their commitments unless informed otherwise. Internship and student teaching attendance will be dependent on faculty and staff members’ decisions leading those classes.
Muskingum University wants students, parents, faculty, and staff to know campus is working to keep its students safe and university officials are not worried about the coronavirus currently being on campus.
“Muskingum University has been around since 1837 and has gone through a whole lot of things and we will get through this,” said Evangelista.
The university urges students to check their email frequently as that will be the main line of communication from campus to students. For updated information about COVID-19 and the campus, visit Muskingum.edu/coronavirus.
WMCO will continue live operations until Friday, March 13 at noon. Alternative programming will air during the off-campus time frame. WMCO Weekend, originally scheduled for March 20 & 21 featuring COSI on Wheels will be rescheduled for a later date.
