Quinnipiac shuts down campus amid coronavirus fears

Following several universities and colleges across the nation, Quinnipiac University will not allow students to return to campus after spring break in an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus. The university canceled all classes for Monday, March 16 and Tuesday, March 17, and will move the rest of the semester’s classes online.

“The choices we are making place protecting the health of the entire Quinnipiac community, and supporting the continued academic work of our students, above all else,” Quinnipiac President Judy Olian wrote in an email to students sent Sunday evening. “The majority of faculty and staff will be working remotely and will continue to perform their job functions from home.”

The decision to move classes to an online format was made on March 10, with the university adding two extra days to spring break to ease the transition. Initially students were told they could return to campus housing on March 22. Officials reversed that decision Sunday, announcing that all university housing will close March 18, requiring all students to leave by then. This includes the York Hill campus, as well as all QU-owned houses.

“We will provide information at a later date on when and how student belongings can be retrieved,” Olian wrote.

Classes will be held online using the Zoom software. All events on campus are cancelled, including sporting events. The university promised some amount of refunds to students, but didn’t elaborate.

“We expect to be able to provide some level of refund for housing and meal plans for those graduating,” Olian wrote. “For students not yet graduating, the credit would be applied against next year’s costs.”

At least one student was distraught by the closure.

“I feel like I’m being robbed of the final defining moments of my college life,” Edward Maher, a senior at Quinnipiac, said. “Not by the school, but just by life. And frankly, I feel like that’s more upsetting”

Read the full message from Olian below, and for more information check out the university’s COVID-19 site:

Dear Quinnipiac Family,

We’re all living through an unprecedented time that continues to change on a daily – often hourly – basis. There’s no doubt that our lives have been upended for a while. That’s been very hard for many, including our students who come to Quinnipiac not just to learn, but to connect, compete, grow and lead. Through this time, the choices we are making place protecting the health of the entire Quinnipiac community, and supporting the continued academic work of our students, above all else.

That is why today we have come to this very difficult decision: Students will not return to campus after the extended spring break, and the remainder of the spring semester will be delivered online. University housing will be closed for the remainder of the spring semester with the exception of special cases that need accommodation. Taking this action now is – without a doubt – in the best interest of our students’ health, the health of our faculty and staff, and of our local communities. It is also consistent with the recommendations and urging of government officials all around us to safeguard communities and to try and slow the continued spread of this virus.
 
Here is some additional information on what this decision means for our university community:

1. All university housing is closed.

   • Students are not permitted to return to any of the campuses at this time. We will provide information at a later date on when and how student belongings can be retrieved from the residence halls and other buildings.

   • Students currently living in university housing must leave by 9 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18.

   • Students with extraordinary circumstances who need access to, or to remain in, university housing must submit a special housing request for consideration. All requests must be submitted by noon on Monday, March 16, to conditionalrequests@qu.edu.

   • All university housing will remain locked to safeguard students’ belongings.

2. We are transitioning to online delivery of all classes for the remainder of the semester.

   • Online classes begin Wednesday, March 18.

   • Faculty members responsible for each course are providing further details and instructions to students via Blackboard and university email.

   • The university’s libraries will be closed, but the libraries are accessible online for students’ remote use of their resources. Content can be accessed via MyQ at: go.qu.edu/libraryresources

   • Health Sciences and nursing students can continue with their clinicals and fieldwork as long as the clinical agencies/hospitals/sites will continue to support them. The university will evaluate this on a daily basis. In the event that students are not able to continue with clinical practical experiences, their program leaders will work with them to personalize a plan and to ensure that students’ clinical experiences meet requisite criteria.

3. The university remains open; however, most services will be provided virtually as we ensure the continuity of academics and university operations.

   • The majority of faculty and staff will be working remotely and will continue to perform their job functions from home.

   • Some student employment, including work study and graduate assistantships, may continue if the job can be performed remotely. Students should contact their supervisors for more details. There may be additional student employment opportunities that can be completed remotely; contact nathan.petropoulos@qu.edu in Student Employment for details.

   • The university’s fitness centers are closed for the remainder of the semester.

4. University Events

   • All university events, including admissions tours and info sessions, have been cancelled until further notice.

   • All spring collegiate and club athletic programs have been cancelled.

   • It is too early to make any decisions about our commencement ceremonies in May.

5. Credits/Refunds

   • We expect to be able to provide some level of refund for housing and meal plans for those graduating; for students not yet graduating, the credit would be applied against next year’s costs.

   • We have been focused on the health and education of our students and have not yet resolved the financial impact of this crisis. We will provide further details in the coming weeks.

6. Information and Resources

   • Website – regular updates are being posted online at www.qu.edu/COVID19

   • Frequently Asked Questions – we have addressed many common questions in an FAQ we have published online

   • Online Support Center – if you have any urgent questions remaining, please send an email to COVID19SupportCenter@qu.edu and a representative of our university will personally respond (please include a phone number in case we need to call you).

As our national leaders and health experts have all indicated, we need to ‘flatten the curve.’ While the virus cannot be stopped as of yet, we each can do our part to slow its spread so that our health care systems can catch up and cope with the scale of the outbreak. So for now, this is what we must do.

For all our current Bobcats, I share your sense of loss as we go through this experience – loss of time with friends, faculty and staff mentors, academic and athletic competitions, team activities, and social gatherings – that were abruptly taken from your lives. Your QU family will be examining whether, and how, we can offer any parts of those experiences later, even in the summer, especially for seniors. But right now, our focus is on everyone’s health.

Be well, take care of yourselves, and take care of each other.