Muhlenberg College Announces Covid-19 Preparatory Measures
Due to an expectation that the virus will eventually impact its community, the College has announced a suspension of in-person classes March 18 through April 13. At this time, the College has no confirmed cases of Covid-19 (coronavirus) on campus.By: Bill Keller Wednesday, March 11, 2020 06:07 PM
On Tuesday, March 10, the College announced a series of actions to address what the College sees as an eventual direct impact on its operations due to Covid-19. After consultation with epidemiologists, health authorities and Muhlenberg’s own faculty and staff experts, we have made the decision to suspend in-person classes for a period of time and significantly reduce the number of students in College housing.
In-person courses will be suspended on Friday, March 13, at the conclusion of regularly scheduled classes. Remote instruction will be offered for all courses, beginning March 18, and are currently scheduled to continue through April 13. The College remains open and will continue to operate throughout the semester. All students will have the opportunity to complete their coursework, and we are committed to ensuring seniors will graduate on time this May, provided they complete all program requirements.
While many of our faculty are familiar with and currently utilize online instructional tools and services, we will be providing additional support and training necessary to successfully translate their courses into a variety of digital formats.
In a message to students sent on the evening of March 10, Interim President Kathleen Harring to the students stressed that though this is disappointing news, the College is committed to doing everything possible to support their success.
“During this time the College will continue to provide the services necessary to fulfill our academic mission and serve the needs of our community,” said Harring. “We will work to deliver an academically engaging remote learning experience and look forward to the day when you will rejoin us on campus….This is a difficult situation, but in true Muhlenberg fashion, we continue to work together as a community to address these challenges.”
To mitigate the impact of the likely exposure and transmission of the virus, students must leave their on-campus residence halls no later than 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 14, taking what they will need while away from campus during the scheduled suspension. Housing & residence life staff are working directly with students who may need an exemption from this policy; exemptions may include students whose home countries are under travel restrictions, students from areas with increased health risks in their home communities, or students experiencing other extenuating circumstances.
An announcement about spring athletic events and competitions is pending a decision by the Centennial Conference regarding the spring sports season. All College-sponsored student and public events on campus scheduled between the end of day March 13 and April 12 have been canceled. New requests to schedule events will be evaluated after April 13.
We will continue to monitor the Covid-19 situation and response at the regional and national levels. We encourage our community members to visit our coronavirus website, where we have posted and will continue to post ongoing updates and information. This site includes a list of frequently asked questions.
