UNC System orders students off campuses, reduces housing and dining options
The UNC System announced Tuesday that all universities across the state will make changes to keep students off campus for the Spring 2020 semester, including forcing students out of their dorms.
Students living in university housing will be instructed to “remain at, or return to, their permanent residences unless granted an exception by the institution,” according to a statement from the system.
The guidance from interim UNC System President Bill Roper is “to protect the health and safety of our campus communities during this unprecedented public health emergency.” Roper is the former dean of the UNC School of Medicine, CEO of UNC Health Care and director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The exceptions for housing will be limited for students who have a “significant need” to stay on campus. Universities will also establish an exceptions process and health screening for those students.
Campuses will also reduce dining operations to takeout or similar options.
Universities will send out more details about what these changes will look like on their own campuses for students and employees.
The schools are working on arrangements for employees to work remotely, granting certain paid administrative leave and identifying “mandatory employees needed for continued operations during the COVD-19 pandemic,” according to the system.
There was no timeline announced for these changes, but that information is likely to differ from campus to campus.
The UNC System previously instructed the institutions to transition from in-person instruction to online or remote classes during the spring semester. The hundreds of thousands of students and faculty at campuses in Chapel Hill, Charlotte, Boone, Wilmington, Greenville and others had an extra week of spring break to prepare for the new reality, which begins on Monday, March 23.
If you or someone you know has been affected by the coronavirus at a university, including international students, please contact higher education reporter Kate Murphy at kamurphy@newsobserver.com.
How are NC college campuses impacted?
NC State Chancellor Randy Woodson sent out a letter with more information Tuesday afternoon, detailing that residential facilities will remain open until 5 p.m. Sunday, March 22. Students on campus should make plans to return to their permanent residence by that date and stay there for the rest of the semester.
NC State students who are away from campus have until then to gather the essentials from their dorms, but do not have to move all of their stuff out immediately.
“To be direct, until further notice, if you don’t need to be on campus, you shouldn’t be on campus,” Woodson wrote.
Exceptions to housing accommodations can be made for international students, those experiencing housing insecurity or individuals with personal extenuating circumstances, according to the university.
The UNC System will make decisions about potential refunds for housing or dining fees after April 1 or after the universities are “beyond the immediate challenges being faced regarding the spread of COVID-19,” Woodson’s letter said.
Many UNC-Chapel Hill buildings will be closed and in-person, non-essential services will be suspended beginning March 20 at 5 p.m., the university announced Tuesday.
Residence halls and Granville Towers will be closed to all residents for the rest of the academic year. There will be a few exceptions and students who apply for a waiver to stay on campus will have to complete a health screening and “clearly establish that no other practical alternative is available,” according to the university.
Students currently on campus are being asked to move out “as soon as possible” and no later than Saturday, March 21, by 5 p.m.
Only a limited number of Carolina dining locations will be open and they will only offer takeout meals. Campus Health services will remain open and UNC-CH will make accommodations for students in quarantine and isolation, if necessary.
Exceptions will be made for a small number of emergency staff, administrators and researchers, as well as for students who are granted special circumstances waivers to remain in campus residence halls.
East Carolina University is closing residence halls starting Wednesday, March 25 at 3 p.m. Students will be able to return to campus to get their belongings from their dorms starting at 8 a.m. Thursday morning.
Any ECU students who need to stay on campus will be consolidated into one dorm and dining options will be limited, according to ECU officials.
Duke University has already told to students to vacate their dorms and remain off campus after spring break with the switch to online classes.
Duke students were told to leave their belongings in their dorms and the university would work with them to ship necessary items back to them.
The university is working with students with special circumstances, including personal safety, health and financial issues, as well as international students who need to stay on campus because of travel restrictions.
Has the coronavirus outbreak spread to universities?
None of the dozens of coronavirus cases reported in North Carolina so far have been UNC System students.
A student at Campbell University tested positive and is in self-quarantine, and four people Duke University graduate students tested positive while traveling and are being treated abroad. On Tuesday, Duke announced at least 15 other people who were part of that group have also tested positive and are recovering at home in Durham County.
UNC-Chapel Hill alerted students, faculty and staff that an employee tested “presumptively positive” for COVID-19 Tuesday afternoon.
The individual is self-isolating at home per state health department and CDC guidelines. If someone is a close contact of this individual, they will be notified directly with guidance and next steps, according to the university.
Individual universities are working with local public health officials and their communities on quarantine or isolation plans if that becomes necessary.
In response to the threat of the virus, N.C. Gov. Roy Cooper ordered restaurants and bars to end dine-in service starting Tuesday and closed public schools statewide to help stop the spread of the coronavirus.
Institutions will also cancel or postpone gatherings of 50 or more people or conduct meetings by video or phone. Chancellors can approve events that don’t meet that limit. The system noted that the CDC and White House recommend avoiding of gatherings of more than 10 people.
The NCAA also canceled spring athletics events and the remaining winter NCAA championships because of the threat of the coronavirus.
Universities, including UNC-Chapel Hill and N.C. State, encouraged students not to return to campus, but originally kept residence and dining halls, libraries and campus health facilities open for those who needed it.
UNC-CH also canceled all spring and summer 2020 study abroad programs in high risk European and Asian countries. NC State has also asked students abroad in Europe to come home.
This story was originally published March 17, 2020 at 12:13 PM.
