The Florida Board of Governors advised state universities to take action and transition to remote instruction, according to a Wednesday news release.
“As we have continued to monitor the spread of the COVID-19 virus it has become clear that to protect the students and the residents of our state, proactive rather than reactive guidance to universities is necessary,” the Wednesday statement reads. “To be clear, campuses will remain open, and operations will continue, although some adjustments may be made as determined by each university.”
“Effective immediately, all universities will make plans to transition to remote instruction as soon as possible,” the release states.
All students are encouraged to stay at, or return to, their permanent residences, according to a Wednesday UCF news release.
The news release states residence halls will remain open for residents who do not have an alternative place to stay, but certain campus services may not be available.
“UCF will move to remote instruction effective Monday, March 16, to minimize health and safety risks to the UCF community, especially as students and faculty prepare to return from Spring Break,” the release states.
- Online classes will not be affected.
- All other classes will be ready by Wednesday, March 18.
Campus will remain open for employees, who are expected to continue working, according to the release.
“It has become increasingly clear that social distancing is critical in preventing the spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19),” the UCF release reads. “Social distancing means avoiding mass gatherings and settings with large amounts of people and maintaining distance from others when possible.”
The Board of Governors also list the following:
- State universities with students who are currently on spring break or about to be on break should direct their students to NOT return to campus for at least 2 weeks following the conclusion of spring break.
- This includes students at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Florida Atlantic University, Florida State University, New College of Florida, the University of North Florida, the University of Central Florida, the University of South Florida, and the University of West Florida.
- State universities with students who have returned from spring break should implement a process to transition to remote instruction immediately and encourage students to return home for at least 2 weeks.
- This includes Florida Gulf Coast University, Florida International University, Florida Polytechnic University, and the University of Florida.
