West Virginia University announced Tuesday night that classes will be suspended the week of March 23-27 and students should not return to campus following spring break in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

WVU is scheduled to be on spring break March 14-22, meaning no classes will be held for two weeks.

“Beginning Monday, March 30, class instruction will be delivered remotely via online or other alternative learning options,” president Gordon Gee wrote in a letter to the WVU community Tuesday. “Students should remain home following spring break to receive instruction until WVU is confident that you can return to campus safely. “

“As this unprecedented and rapidly changing public health situation evolves, we will contact you frequently to keep you informed about every development,” Gee writes. “While we know these steps are necessary, we also know the heart of the University experience is the exchange of ideas that occur in our classrooms and on our campuses every day. We are disrupting this process only in an effort to keep our WVU community safe.”

Here is the full letter from President Gee:

Dear West Virginia University community:

We are at a unique moment in our world’s history of public health challenges. I know that many of you have questions and concerns about how the novel coronavirus is affecting our campuses. Let me start by stating that our highest priority is always the safety and well-being of our faculty, staff, students and community.

An administrative team, along with local and state health officials, has been working diligently to identify ways to keep our campuses safe, as well as sharing precautionary measures individuals could take. Although there are currently no reported cases in West Virginia, the University takes seriously its responsibility to protect our campuses during this uncertain time.

To mitigate the community spread of COVID-19, and to best protect our campuses and our communities after spring break, West Virginia University will be taking the following actions:

• WVU will suspend classes the week of March 23-27.
• Beginning Monday, March 30, class instruction will be delivered remotely via online or other alternative learning options.
• All other online only classes will continue as originally scheduled.
• Health Sciences students who are involved in clinical rotations and clinical work will receive further guidance from Health Sciences leadership and academic deans. Information about labs, testing and other items will also be provided.
• Students should remain home following spring break to receive instruction until WVU is confident that you can return to campus safely. Please refer to this checklist to determine what to take with you.
• Faculty will be receiving information from the Office of the Provost on next steps within the next few days.
• Students will receive instructions from their faculty on how to access instruction remotely.
• Our campuses will remain open and operational at this time. Additional information will be sent to faculty and staff within the next few days from Talent and Culture.
• University-related international travel has been suspended. Domestic travel is also suspended for all non-essential University-related business. For further information on travel instructions, visit the travel section of coronavirus.wvu.edu.
• If you must travel for professional or personal reasons, we ask that you voluntarily register your trip so that we may monitor our travel footprint and share critical information with you upon your return.
• If you currently live in a residence hall and would like to remain in Morgantown through spring break and beyond, we ask that you fill out the residence hall break housing form.

As this unprecedented and rapidly changing public health situation evolves, we will contact you frequently to keep you informed about every development. You can also find all the latest information at coronavirus.wvu.edu. If you have a specific question regarding general University procedures moving forward, please direct it to coronavirus@mail.wvu.edu.

While we know these steps are necessary, we also know the heart of the University experience is the exchange of ideas that occur in our classrooms and on our campuses every day. We are disrupting this process only in an effort to keep our WVU community safe.

I trust that we will approach this challenge with our uniquely resilient Mountaineer character. Working together, we will sustain our highest purpose — making our world a better place through learning and service.

E. Gordon Gee
President, West Virginia University