SVSU announced Wednesday, March 11 that in-face classes will morph into online courses from Monday, March 16 to at least Friday, April 17.
The decision came after Gov. Whitmer declared a state of emergency over COVID-19 ,or the coronavirus, on Tuesday, March 10, when Michigan’s saw its first two confirmed cases of coronavirus in Metro Detroit.
The coronavirus is a respiratory infection that can cause serious illness or even death. Symptoms include coughing, fever and shortness of breath. The CDC recommends suspending unnecessary social interactions to avoid further spreading the virus. This recommendation has led to several universities suspending in-face classes.
In an email sent out to the campus community, University Communications stated the “SVSU leadership team” met with the Saginaw County Health Department the morning of March 11 to discuss the possibility of suspending in-face classes. While the chances of contracting the virus in Saginaw is currently low, the email stated the situation is “rapidly developing.”
All university-sponsored international travel will be cancelled effectively immediately until at least June 30. SVSU-sponsored domestic travel by faculty, staff and students is strongly discoursed.
Professors are expected to contact students by Wednesday, March 18 to explain to students how to expect their remote classwork to be delivered. The SVSU email stated that the university is “continuing to work with faculty and staff on laboratory and performance classes.”
Academic and student support, business operations, residential halls and dining services will remain open. Students who have purely remote coursework are encouraged to return home. More “grab and go” dining options will be discussed, the email stated, to avoid communal dining that could potentially spread disease.
SVSU-sponsored events scheduled for this weekend will go on as planned. Whether future events will still occur will be decided later.
Updates will be posted on SVSU’s coronavirus page.
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