UNC Asheville, App State, WCU extend class cancellations for weeks due to Helene’s impacts

As Western North Carolina continues to grapple with the destruction and devastation left by Hurricane Helene, classes at some of the region’s universities won’t resume for several weeks.

UNC Asheville Chancellor Kimberly van Noort announced Tuesday that classes will be suspended at least until Oct. 28 as a result of the storm and its lingering impacts.

Appalachian State University announced Wednesday that classes won’t resume on that campus until after Oct. 15.

Western Carolina University announced Thursday that classes there will be canceled until Oct. 21.

All three campuses had originally planned to remain closed for about a week, but then extended their respective closures and cancellations as recovery efforts in the area continued.

UNC Asheville

UNC Asheville first canceled classes on the morning of Thursday, Sept. 26, as Helene approached the area, and the university has remained closed since then.

UNCA will remain in Condition 3, or closed, until at least Oct. 14. Under Condition 3, campus operations are suspended and only essential employees are permitted on campus. If the university moves to another, less-severe condition level after Oct. 14, some operations may resume and additional employees may be permitted on campus, but classes will remain canceled until Oct. 28.

The campus “sustained minimal structural damage” from the storm, but has been without power, running water or internet since Friday, Sept. 27, van Noort said.

“Communication with our campus and the broader community has been extremely limited due to impaired communications infrastructure, but slowly, we are gradually regaining our ability to connect,” she said.

All on-campus students were relocated within 72 hours of the storm hitting Asheville, van Noort said. The university assisted students in finding safe travel routes off campus and providing them with gas for their cars, she said. “A very small number of students” were relocated to another UNC System campus.

The university was housing about 1,600 students on-campus prior to the storm, and about 1,300 students remained during the storm, a total that was confirmed “through a coordinated door-to-door and room-to-room effort” led by the university’s student affairs division. Students that remained during the storm “were provided daily with drinking water, three meals and support services” until they relocated.

“Throughout the last few days, we’ve worked diligently to ensure we knew where every student was on campus and to meet their needs,” van Noort said.

Though students are not on the Asheville campus, they can continue to access mental health care through all other UNC System schools.

“Bulldogs, you are resilient and we look forward to when we can welcome you home,” van Noort said.

Further updates from UNC Asheville regarding Helene’s impacts are available at new.unca.edu/bulldogalert.

Appalachian State

Appalachian State will not hold classes until Oct. 16 at the earliest, according to an emergency alert message from the university. The university’s fall break was originally scheduled for Oct. 14-15, and classes will remain canceled until the break ends.

Any updates about the “modality and locations” of classes will be communicated by Wednesday, Oct. 9.

The university will remain in Condition 3 status, meaning the university is closed and only mandatory employees report to work, until Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. If the university moves to a less severe status after Oct. 11, the university may open on a limited basis, but classes would remain canceled until at least Oct. 16.

No residence halls are “structurally compromised” and campus dining, health and recreational services remain operational.

The main impact to campus from the storm was “unprecedented levels of flooding,” interim Chancellor Heather Norris said at a press conference Tuesday. Norris added that “several academic buildings have significant water damage.”

Further updates from Appalachian State regarding Helene’s impacts are available at appstatealert.com.

Western Carolina University

Western Carolina University plans to resume classes at its main Cullowhee campus and its Asheville instructional site at Biltmore Park, as well as online, on Oct. 21, according to a campus emergency update.

The university initially canceled classes until Oct. 4, but has now extended the cancellations and campus closure through Friday, Oct. 11. The university’s fall break, set for Oct. 14-18, will continue as planned, furthering the time classes are out until the conclusion of that break.

“This will allow our faculty and staff — many of whom have experienced and continue to experience significant life disruptions — time to recover in their personal lives, revise course syllabi, and prepare to resume normal university operations,” the university’s update read.

If the university extends the class cancellations beyond Oct. 21, it will make that announcement “as soon as possible.”

While classes are canceled, the university will operate in a limited capacity. The following units will remain operational during the closure: administration, university public safety, dining, health services, counseling and psychological services, residential services, the recreation center and the university center.

The extended closure will not impact course credits, and the university’s fall commencement remains scheduled for Dec. 14.

University disaster relief

The universities have established disaster relief funds.

▪ UNC Asheville’s fund is available online at giving.unca.edu.

▪ App State’s fund is available through the homepage of its website: appstate.edu.

▪ Western Carolina’s student emergency fund is available at givecampus.com/campaigns/12526/donations/new.

This story was originally published October 1, 2024 at 3:53 PM.

Korie Dean

The News & Observer

919-335-8507

Korie Dean covers higher education in the Triangle and across North Carolina for The News & Observer, where she is also part of the state government and politics team. She is a graduate of the Hussman School of Journalism and Media at UNC-Chapel Hill and a lifelong North Carolinian.