Kentucky's Berea College among US universities canceling class in coronavirus precautions

Louisville Courier Journal

Colleges around the country are canceling in-person classes, at least temporarily, due to the coronavirus situation — and so is Berea College in the state of Kentucky, where eight cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed publicly so far.

Berea College, a small, private institution where students work n campus and service jobs and don't have to pay tuition, announced this week that it will stop holding classes on campus at the end of this week and wants students to move out of their dorm rooms.

"Concluding, after careful analysis, that it will not be possible to adequately assure student and employee safety in the circumstance of a case of COVID-19 occurring on campus, we have decided that the college will cease instructional activities as of the end of the day on this Friday, March 13," Berea College President Lyle Roelofs said.

The college has about 1,600 students, the majority of whom live on campus, according to a spokesman. For some of its students, returning home may be a hardship. They are allowed to apply for continuing accommodations on campus, Roelofs said.

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And even though the college is ending face-to-face instruction, he indicated students still will be able to complete their classes this semester.

"Because most students will have left campus and not all will have internet access, instruction should not continue, although assignments for students to complete and submit can be part of the plan and electronic communications may continue," Roelofs said. "The due date for final grades will not change."

Students who need help with travel costs can apply for assistance, and all students will still be paid for their campus jobs for the rest of the semester, Roelofs said.

The college itself will not cease operating, he noted, and staff should plan to keep doing their jobs for now.

Centre College announced on March 15 that they will "begin an extended, two-week Spring Break" on March 16 before resuming classes online on March 30. Classes will continue online for the rest of the semester, and students have been asked to "leave campus as soon as possible, taking their things with them if at all possible."

Universities in other states have announced they will begin providing courses and exams online instead of on campus, due to public health concerns. The hope is that pausing face-to-face instruction will help limit the spread of the virus.

In Massachusetts, Harvard University has asked its students not to return to campus after their spring break ends this month and will shift to holding classes remotely.

Similarly, in New Jersey, Princeton University is transitioning to online classes and encouraging students to stay home after spring break.

Several schools in New York and California also have decided to halt in-person classes and teach students online instead, at least for most of March. So has The Ohio State University in Columbus and Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

On Tuesday, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine and health experts recommended that universities in the state go to remote learning, The Enquirer in Cincinnati reported.

And Indiana University announced that students on all its campuses will be taught remotely for for the rest of the semester after the end of their extended spring bre.

Back at Berea College, the school's president described why the tight-knit campus could be vulnerable to a fast-spreading coronavirus outbreak in a recent email to students and staff before the school decided to halt classes.

"Some faculty and students have expressed concern and have suggested curtailing some campus activities including classes and labor," Roelofs said. "Unfortunately, given the close proximity in which we work, learn and live, curtailing just classes and labor will not offer meaningful protection from the potential spread of infection in our community."

If Berea College were to learn that a member of its community had been diagnosed with COVID-19, Roelofs said local government and health officials would work to identify other people who may have been exposed.

"The number of contacts any one of us has with others will make that complicated, and the number identified would likely be appreciable," he said. "In that event, all options will be considered but there may be no alternative but to close the campus under guidance from state and local health officials."

So far, it doesn't appear any other colleges or universities in Kentucky are following Berea College's lead and canceling in-person classes or asking students to move out of their dorm rooms.

The commonwealth's biggest public universities — the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville — have not canceled classes on campus.

However, they have restricted travel by students and staff to nations where the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has instituted a Level 3 Travel Health Notice that recommends against nonessential travel due to the coronavirus's spread.

Those countries are China, Iran, South Korea and Italy.

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At U of L, University President Neeli Bendapudi said in an email to the campus community Tuesday afternoon that there’s “no reason to panic” even though there has been a confirmed COVID-19 case in Jefferson County.

"While this is the first case in our city, it will likely not be the last,” Bendapudi said. “We have no reason to panic, but every reason to take precautions.”

She said U of L’s senior leadership is meeting daily to monitor the situation and hasn’t ruled out the possibility that they may have to cancel classes or move to online-only instruction at some point.

“We have been reviewing the operational needs that may arise in the case that we need to cancel classes, move classes online, or otherwise limit access to campus. We do not believe this step is necessary at the present moment, but we are confident we can take the step as needed,” she said.

In Lexington, the first confirmed coronavirus patient in Kentucky — announced by Gov. Andy Beshear Friday — is being treated in isolation at UK's Chandler Hospital.

The patient is a Harrison County resident, and they are "improving," Beshear said over the weekend.

UK spokesman Jay Blanton said this is clearly a fluid situation and the university is making contingency plans but has not decided to shift to online-only instruction or ask students to move out of their dormitories at this point.

“We don’t know what tomorrow brings, so we need to plan for any eventuality,” he noted.

In a message sent to students, faculty and staff Monday, UK President Eli Capilouto encouraged anyone who is traveling domestically or internationally during the university's spring break this month to fill out a voluntary travel form "so we can support returning travelers and safeguard the community as much as possible."

"Our first priority is the wellness of every member of our community," Capiluto said in reference to a coronavirus workgroup at the school. "And we are discussing contingency plans for every aspect of campus life, should any changes to normal operations be necessary. We will do what is necessary and we will be as prepared as possible."

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education's president, Aaron Thompson, said he had a phone call Tuesday with the leaders of the state's public universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System to discuss the COVID-19 situation.

They all are focused on making sure they put students first, in terms of both protecting their health and their academic success, Thompson said. And the statewide agency he leads is helping coordinate communication among college officials in Kentucky as they all prepare for the potential spread of the coronavirus to their communities.

"We’re looking at every bit of information as soon as we can get it," Thompson said.

The state's colleges are going to take every possible precaution, he said, but he indicated that their plans will be tailored to the needs of their own students and staff.

For example, some institutions have a ton of people living in dormitories while others don't. "That’s why 'one size fits all' doesn’t fit here in many cases," he explained.

He pointed to the fact that universities have spring break this month as a positive because it gives school officials more time to plan and prepare for how to deal with the coronavirus and the challenges it poses for Kentucky and its residents.

Some colleges in the commonwealth are looking at extending their spring break by a couple of days, Thompson said. They could use the extra time, when classes are on pause, to gather more information and plan ahead, such as by showing staff how to teach online in case that becomes necessary.

"We’re looking at all ways to do what we can to make sure students don’t get behind," he said.

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Even though universities in Kentucky, with the exception of Berea College, don't seem to be cancelling classes on campus at this point, they are taking other precautions.

Murray State University, Morehead State University and Northern Kentucky University have canceled certain study abroad programs.

NKU also notified its campus community Monday that it has been informed that two K-12 students who attended a camp NKU hosted over the weekend learned that a relative who recently visited them was being tested out-of-state for the coronavirus.

In light of this, NKU — where no confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been reported — has canceled all youth activities scheduled at the university this week.

Spalding University president Tori Murden McClure announced on March 11 that classes would move to online on March 16, with a tentative return to the physical schedule on April 6. Students who don't have access to internet can use on-campus technology if they have no symptoms that look like the coronavirus.

Meanwhile, Kentucky State University announced Wednesday that while it is monitoring the situation, classes and work for now will continue.

Reporter Morgan Watkins: 502-582-4502; mwatkins@courierjournal.com; Twitter: @morganwatkins26. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/morganw.