Colorado’s major universities are moving their classes from in-person to online as the new coronavirus spreads across the state, campus officials announced Wednesday.
The University of Colorado announced the switch for three of its campuses — Boulder, Denver and Colorado Springs — as did Colorado State University, Metropolitan State University of Denver, University of Denver, Colorado School of Mines, University of Northern Colorado and Durango’s Fort Lewis College.
All institutions said their campuses will remain open for the time being, meaning those that have facilities such as dorms, dining halls, libraries, recreation centers and student health centers will keep them operational.
“It’s really about mitigating the spread in classrooms, and if you look at who is the more at-risk population, it’s folks of a certain age including our faculty,” said Candace Smith, spokeswoman for CU Boulder. “Our residence hall students — think of it as living in an apartment building. They’re the less at-risk population. We have students who can’t go home because they’re from other locations across the world or they have better internet access here.”
These academic institutions are moving all of their classes online:
- CU Boulder, beginning Monday and running through the end of the spring semester in May
- CU Denver, beginning March 30 through the rest of the semester
- CU Colorado Springs, starting after spring break, which runs from March 23 to 29. Remote learning will continue through April 13, and in-person classes are scheduled to begin again April 14, pending any changes.
- MSU Denver, beginning March 30 likely for the remainder of the semester
- CSU, starting March 25. The Fort Collins campus’ spring break begins March 14 and has been extended through March 24, with online courses resuming the following day and continuing until April 10, at which point the campus will re-evaluate the situation and act accordingly.
- University of Denver, including at the Sturm College of Law, beginning March 17 and running at least until April 10. In-person final exams, which begin on Tuesday, are being moved online. In-person Interterm classes during spring break are canceled, but online courses will continue.
- University of Northern Colorado in Greeley, beginning March 23 following spring break and through April 5. Face-to-face teaching is scheduled to resume April 6, but that could change.
- Fort Lewis College in Durango will convene classes as scheduled Thursday and Friday preceding spring break. Classes following spring break on March 23 and 24 are canceled. Courses will be moved online from March 25 through April 6, and the college will update the campus community about the future from there.
- Colorado School of Mines, beginning March 30, following spring break
- Naropa University in Boulder, beginning March 30 after students return from spring break, which starts March 23
- Colorado College announced Tuesday that its private, Colorado Springs-based campus was transitioning to online classes beginning March 30, running through at least April 15. The campus was not remaining open during this time.
“It’s going to be inconvenient,” said Larry Sampler, MSU Denver’s COO, during a Wednesday afternoon town hall. “The university is going to grow through this experience. I would predict every one of our students are going to grow in ways they didn’t expect because they’re going to adapt. You have faculty here to help and staff here to help and resources that remain available. Don’t feel like you’re doing it alone, but don’t feel like it’s going to be easy.”
To assure faculty and students anxious about the switch and all the unknowns accompanying it, MSU Denver President Janine Davidson said she’ll be teaching an online course and doesn’t yet know how to do it.
“I’m going to figure it out,” Davidson said. “We’re going to figure this out together.”
Unlike some academic institutions across the country that asked students to vacate the campus, CU officials said they want to continue providing resources to students who depend on them.
“For many students, this is their home,” said Dan Jones, associate vice chancellor for integrity, safety and compliance. “They’re supported here. They learn here. They have access to mental health supports and counseling. We don’t think the facts warrant trying to close the residence halls. Our goal is to promote social distancing.”
If MSU Denver’s downtown campus closes, university officials said Wednesday state and federal work-study grants would continue paying hourly student workers who may depend on that income to survive.
MSU Denver also said online courses will be scaled in a way that makes them accessible via smartphone in case some students don’t have computers at home. Students without smartphones can request technology resources from campus. The campus is in talks with Comcast about potential solutions for those without wifi access at home.
Each campus has different policies and procedures for its population, including travel restrictions, event closures and updates to study abroad, which can be found on the different campus’ websites, along with FAQ pages and other coronavirus updates.
Abigail Bradshaw, a 23-year-old Ph.D. student at CU Boulder, is no longer traveling to East Africa in the coming weeks for her research on impacts of rural flooding in communities.
“That really throws a wrench in things, but I’m really impressed with our university and state government response,” Bradshaw said. “This is going to be a big adjustment for everybody, but I think it’s important for everyone to know that the reason CU and other universities are doing these things is so that healthy people don’t spread it to the immuno-suppressed people or people who have a much harder time getting over the illness.”
The move to remote learning follows actions taken this week by academic institutions around the country, including Harvard University and UCLA, to minimize students’ risk of contracting the highly contagious coronavirus.
Colorado schools and universities have been preparing for a shift to online learning in the event physical campuses need to be shut down to further prevent the spread of coronavirus infections.
Jones said faculty members will be given the option to use the technology they feel fits the learning objectives of their students, from existing online platforms like Canvas to setting up online video conferencing meetings with classes.
On Tuesday, Gov. Jared Polis declared a state of emergency in light of the spreading virus. As of Wednesday afternoon, 33 cases had been confirmed in the state.
