![]() ![]() Block, the Chancellor of UCLA said in a statement “like many of you, I have been carefully following news about the novel coronavirus… I believe that it is important for communities to look out for one another and do what is best for our global and UCLA communities.” He then proceeded to announce the immediate transition from in-person classes to online, with winter quarter finals to be taken remotely. In the March 10 statement, the College said “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.” ![]() ![]() Out of state, the University of Washington in Seattle, Berea College in Kentucky, and Harvard University in Cambridge are also taking steps to preserve the health of their students.ĭespite a lower number of Coronavirus cases in the state of Kentucky than there are in the city of Los Angeles alone, Berea College is closing its classes. UC Los Angeles, UC Berkeley, UC Santa Cruz, Whittier College, Stanford, and UC San Diego are among the many schools in California digitizing their curriculum. The college has not yet decided to cancel athletic events.Īs of March 10, a variety of schools around the nation, including those within California, are transitioning a majority of courses into online versions to avoid large congregations of students. The administration also cancelled “all non-essential travel for college employees and for students,” including events such as conferences and study abroad programs. When asked if this procedure applies to students over the age of 60 at other SMC campuses, Merlic said, “That is up to them and their physician… we would follow the same procedures we do any time a student is sick.” The Emeritus campus will be closed to all except its employees. SMC administration plans to temporarily suspend classes for its Emeritus program, a program that focuses on catering to the older adult community with non-credit classes. “We are waiting for public health officials to indicate that there is a reason for us to suspend on-ground instruction… They are not indicating that there is enough risk for us to make a change at this time.” “We can decide to do what we think is appropriate, but what we think is appropriate is to follow the advice of public health officials,” said Merlic. Susan Fila, currently has an emergency action plan in the event of a coronavirus-related campus closure, flexible according to different levels of severity.Īccording to Vice President of Academic Affairs Jennifer Merlic, SMC’s decision regarding a campus closure is dependent on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health. SMC’s emergency task force, co-chaired by Chief of Police Johnnie Adams and Director of Health Services Dr. Kathryn Jeffrey emailed faculty and staff on Sunday, stating the change was “to allow time for faculty, staff, and administrators to participate in training and make other preparations in the event that a campus closure becomes necessary.” This comes amidst a smattering of statewide school closures to decrease campus-wide risk of contracting coronavirus. ![]() To prepare for the possibility that Santa Monica College (SMC) may close its campus and move classes online, faculty members were invited to participate in both hands-on and webinar-based classes to learn about internet education. Tues., March 10 was supposed to be a scheduled staff development Flex Day, but instead, it was changed to accomodate an evolving COVID-19 preparedness effort. ![]()
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