Creighton suspended in-person classes the week of March 16 and will move classes online beginning March 23, the Rev. Daniel S. Hendrickson, S.J., announced in an email Thursday.
The plan, created by the Executive Leadership Team, Critical Incident Response Team and the COVID-19 Task Force, also canceled all university, department and student organization events, effective immediately, and suspended all domestic and international travel beginning March 16.
“The health and well-being of our faculty, staff, and students, as well as any visitors to our campus and local, national, and global communities, is of utmost concern,” the statement says.
The announcement said in-person classes will resume April 13. This date will be confirmed no later than April 6, according to the email.
Campus will remain open, Hendrickson said in the statement, and students will be permitted to stay on campus if they are unable to return home. However, the email encourages students to return or stay home until in-person classes resume.
“We strongly encourage students who are home for spring break, and those who have traveled to other locations, to remain or return home and not return to campus until April 13,” Hendrickson said in the statement.
All residential life staff, including student resident advisers, are expected to return to campus by 7 p.m. on Sunday, interim residential life Director Kristen Schuling said in an email Thursday. Front desk and on-call RA services will continue in the residence halls all next week and during the online courses.
Faculty and staff are expected to report to campus, though “faculty, staff and students who are feeling sick should stay home and contact their health care provider.”
Dining services and other operations and services will still be available with modified hours of operation.
The Skutt Student Center and Kiewit Fitness Center will remain open to support students on campus, vice provost for Student Life Tanya Winegard said in an email Thursday.
“Additional high-touch, deep-cleaning housekeeping services will continue [in both centers],” Winegard said.
The KFC will operate with modified hours, according to the email, and Winegard said staffing plans are still in development.
The Reinert-Alumni Memorial Library will extend spring break hours until in-person classes resume on campus, Thursday’s email said.
The CHI Health Student Care Clinic will remain open during its regular hours.
Public Safety Director Michael D. Reiner said his department is working with the Student Health Education and Compliance office to provide transportation to the Student Care Clinic when needed. They will use a screening process before transporting anyone, following similar procedures used at area hospitals.
Reiner said regular shuttle services will not be in operation.
Faculty are permitted to use their offices and classrooms to record course content to be delivered online and are receiving support from the DoIt Teaching and Learning Center as they transfer their courses to an online format.
“When people care about each other and are focused on a shared mission, it is possible to find ways to stay engaged in learning and connected to each other even when our daily lives have been turned upside down,” Winegard said.