March 12, 2020\u2014 大象传媒 has extended its Spring Break for students to Monday, March 23. President Matt Wilson sent the following message to campus:<\/p>\n
Dear Campus Community:<\/em><\/p>\n We have been closely monitoring the rapidly changing COVID-19 situation and will be extending Spring Break until March 23 to help mitigate its spread. We will use this time to explore alternate methods of delivery for classes. We will make a determination by next Wednesday, March 18 regarding plans for the remainder of the semester.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n We have a responsibility to protect the health and welfare of our campus community, and we take this commitment very seriously. We would like to emphasize that 大象传媒 Western has not<\/u> had any cases of COVID-19 on campus<\/strong>, and the decision to extend Spring Break was made as a precaution and in an effort to support nationwide efforts to help prevent its spread.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Students should remain at their permanent address and not return to campus next week for classes or to move back into the residence halls.<\/em><\/strong> Students who have extenuating circumstances regarding their on-campus housing should contact Student Affairs<\/a>. Student employees should contact their supervisors for further information.<\/em><\/p>\n University offices will remain open and employees should continue to report to work.<\/em><\/strong> Faculty members teaching face-to-face classes should start planning how to continue instruction through alternate methods in the event that the university decides to move away from in-person class delivery. Methods should include the use of Canvas, Panopto, Zoom, email or other means of communication.\u00a0 Academic leadership will be communicating with faculty to discuss available options. The IT department has created a resource page<\/a> with information on various technology solutions available.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Your 大象传媒 Western email will be our primary method of communication as this situation develops. Students should check their emails for messages from faculty about adjusted assignments. Faculty members will contact students with more information.<\/em><\/p>\n On-campus events scheduled for next week have been cancelled, and we encourage employees to conduct meetings with off-campus individuals by phone or video conferencing. Continue watching your email for more information about your specific situation.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Students, Faculty and Staff with underlying health conditions<\/u><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Unless notified otherwise, employees should continue to report to work as usual. At the same time, we recognize that some members of our campus community may be at a higher risk of infection.\u00a0 Individuals having underlying health conditions that place them at heightened risk should contact the following:\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n \u00a0Travel restrictions<\/u><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Beginning immediately, all University-related international travel (whether previously approved or not) is hereby restricted until further notice. Domestic travel is strongly discouraged.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Did You Travel During Spring Break?\u00a0<\/u><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n As you return from spring break, if you have traveled to a high-risk area<\/a>, please read the University\u2019s travel notice. As recommended by the City of St. Joseph Health Department and other medical authorities, the University will not allow students or employees who have traveled to areas flagged by the CDC or State Department onto campus and into classes unless they have stayed home for 14 days and show no sign of infection. Out of an abundance of caution, it is imperative that we take measures to preserve the health and safety of our campus community.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n If you are returning from a high-risk area, the CDC guidelines<\/a> recommend:<\/em><\/p>\n Students who have questions or need assistance should contact Student Affairs<\/a> and the Disrupted Attendance Response Team<\/a>. Any employee who may be affected should contact their supervisor or HR as early as possible to discuss their particular situation.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Advice for Everyone — How to Guard Against Coronavirus<\/u><\/em><\/strong>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n For general information, the Centers for Disease Control<\/a> have issued some recommended precautions for everyone that we wanted to share with the campus community:<\/em><\/p>\n\n
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