MARCH 18, 2020
Following the White House’s recommendation that gatherings of 10 or more people be canceled or postponed, Lipscomb University officials made the decision to extend online instruction for the rest of the spring semester in the wake of growing concern over the coronavirus.
“This difficult and unprecedented decision – one being faced by colleges and universities throughout the country – was made with the health, wellbeing and safety of our students, faculty and staff in mind,” said President Lowry in an email sent Wednesday afternoon.
Commencement has been canceled for spring 2020 graduates and the dorms are sending students home.
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MARCH 15, 2020
Thanks to concerns over the coronavirus, the week after spring break this year will be one unlike any Lipscomb has ever experienced.
The university announced the following for the week of March 23-27:
- Undergraduate students will have an extended week of spring break.
- Graduate classes will resume; programs will determine the format.
- Faculty will report to campus to transition classes to a remote teaching and learning environment.
In a presentation to faculty and staff on Thursday, President Randy Lowry said that “‘closing’ is not a very good word for this.”
“We are open and will at some level stay open because we have certain kinds of needs we need to meet for our students,” Lowry said.
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MARCH 12, 2020
Lipscomb University has announced an extended spring break running until March 27th for undergraduate students.
The information was delivered in an email to the Lipscomb community from the office of the president saying the following.
“Faculty and staff will report to work the week of March 23-27 as usual. During this week, faculty and staff will use the time to transition all undergraduate classes to a remote teaching and learning environment. Undergraduate classes will resume in a remote format on Monday, March 30.”
“Graduate classes will resume on Monday, March 23. Programs will determine format. If there is any change in the delivery method of a graduate program, the graduate students in that program will be notified by the program administrators.”
The University is encouraging students to take their academic materials and essential belongings with them in the event of the situation changing over spring break.
MARCH 11, 2020
Lipscomb has made the decision to cancel all classes for Friday, March 13th.
The information was delivered in an email to the Lipscomb community from the office of the president saying, “To date, no confirmed cases related to COVID-19 have been reported on campus nor have significant risks been identified.”
“As we look toward spring break next week, we have decided to suspend classes for Friday, March 13, to give our community an opportunity to be better prepared for the possibility of operating in an online format should a circumstance arise where that is necessary. This also allows our students to start their spring break a day early THIS Friday, March 13. Dorms will close on Saturday morning as originally scheduled. It also gives faculty and staff a day for professional training and preparedness on the latest tools to work remotely should that be a future circumstance.”
All European Global Learning groups are being sent home early. Students are expected to be sent home by this weekend.
An email has just been sent to Lipscomb Global learning students and their parents stating the following.
“It is with our students’ best interest in mind, that we have decided to end our European study abroad programs this week,” said President Randolph L Lowry in an email to Global learning students and their parents.”
“The Office of Global Learning will make all travel arrangements for the return flights home for students with a goal of returning all students to the U.S. by the end of the weekend.”
“Dear Study Abroad Students:
We are very sorry for the extenuating circumstances that will not allow for you to continue your European study abroad program. Your safety and security is our primary focus. Below is a note sent to your parents with further details of the transition back to the States.
Blessings,
Randy Lowry”
MARCH 10, 2020
Belmont University recently released a statement saying, “Given the potential for exposure and CDC recommendations for social distancing, Belmont has made the following decisions: Spring Break will be extended through March 22 with no academic activities taking place. Beginning Monday, March 23, all classes will resume in an online-only capacity for at least two weeks.”
Belmont’s current plan is to begin in-person instruction again on Monday, April 6, possibly extending the date further for resuming in-person classes and all student programming scheduled through April 3 will be canceled or postponed. Belmont will also be canceling Easter Break, and classes will be held April 9, 10 and 13 to catch up on lost class time.
To read the full statement from Belmont University click here.
Vanderbilt University announced Monday that due to new developments regarding the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), all classes will be canceled this week and all in-person classes will be suspended until at least March 30. Interim Chancellor and Provost of Vanderbilt University Susan Wente said the policy may extend until the end of the semester.
The Vanderbilt Hustler tweeted a quote from Junior Max Schulman, who has now tested positive for COVID-19 that said, “If I had to guess, there were maybe 50 [Vanderbilt students] who were in Barcelona who went and came back [to Vanderbilt],”
According to the Vanderbilt University Coronavirus hub, “Since some students may need to remain on campus during this period of in-person class suspension, the campus will remain open with limited or reduced services,”
Due to new information received March 9, and based on our desire to protect the health and safety of our community from the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), the university is cancelling classes for the remainder of this week.
— Vanderbilt University (@VanderbiltU) March 10, 2020
So far there has been no word of Lipscomb University canceling classes, but students have created an online petition saying, “Lipscomb Should Cancel Classes Due To Coronavirus Outbreak.”
Many students are worrying about sporting events and upcoming large campus events at Lipscomb. We reached out to Louis Nelms, director of student involvement, about the potential of Singarama being canceled.
“The only way that I could see Singarama not happening is if Lipscomb were to adopt a coronavirus plan that moved all classes to an online format like a select few other schools have done,” Nelms said in an email to Lumination Network. “If we are in classes like usual, Singarama will go on.”
Lipscomb’s office of human resources sent out an email to faculty saying, “With the expected presence of COVID-19 confirmed in Middle Tennessee, we want to highlight coverage information for employees who are enrolled in the Lipscomb medical plan that may be helpful as a cold and flu season is upon us with the new virus that is occurring.” HR then listed the benefits faculty has in their coverage plan and reminding the faculty of precautionary health measures that should be taken.
“Be prepared. Stay home when you are sick,” and “Call ahead,” were a few of the proactive measures listed in the HR email from Lipscomb.
According to the Lipscomb website, for more information regarding the virus at Lipscomb, you can contact Dennis Steverson, Director of Environmental, Health and Safety via email at dennis.steverson@lipscomb.edu.
View the full statement from Vanderbilt University here.