All 5 U of M Campuses Cancel In Person Classes, Go Online Beginning Monday

In an announcement from the Univerity of Minnesota president Joan Gabel, all 5 University of Minnesota campuses will begin offering only online classes beginning on Monday, March 16th for some campuses, and Wednesday, March 18th for other campuses due to Coronavirus/COVID-19.

According to President Gabel "As the challenges presented by COVID-19 continue to change rapidly, the University of Minnesota’s top priority remains the health, safety, and well-being of our University community.

While there are no known cases of COVID-19 reported in our system, as a precautionary measure to mitigate the risk of exposure to our University community, we are implementing the following action steps consistent with many of our peer institutions across the country.

We are suspending in-person instruction, including field experiences and clinicals, across our five campuses and are moving to online, or alternative, instruction. Students on the Morris and Crookston campuses will have in-person classes through this Friday, March 13.

As a result:

• Spring break will be extended on the Duluth, Rochester, and Twin Cities campuses until Wednesday, March 18. Students will resume classes, through online or alternative instruction, on March 18.
• Following this break, as well as spring break on the Crookston and Morris campuses, scheduled for next week (March 16-20), all students on all campuses will be taught virtually through at least Wednesday, April 1.
• As we evaluate these measures on an ongoing basis, we will let you know as soon as possible if we extend the online-only instruction period.

For classes that cannot be taught online, the instructor will contact students with further information."

The announcement went on to state that all other campus operations "will continue normal[ly]".

The change to offering only online classes will be reassessed on March 31st.