UPDATED: March 12, 6:02 p.m.
Several institutions of higher education have said they will alter their academic schedules to make that happen.
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University of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania announced on Wednesday that classes will be held online for the remainder of the semester.
Spring break, which is currently underway, will be extended for an additional week. During that time, the university will migrate all classroom teaching to virtual instruction, starting March 23 and continuing through the semester.
Villanova University
Villanova Athletics will continue with normal operations, but on-campus events will be spectator-free.
Villanova is also suspending university-related international travel until further notice.
The university will determine plans for the rest of the semester by April 3.
West Chester University
West Chester University is also moving away from classroom teaching for the rest of the semester.
“We are ceasing face-to-face classes so faculty are going to be moving to other modalities, video conferencing, like Zoom or Skype,” said WCU President Chris Fiorentino. “Some could be moving to online. There are other sorts of technologies that can be used, but basically we are not holding any more face-to-face classes for the rest of the semester.”
Fiorentino noted there are no confirmed cases at WCU, and all students are currently on spring break. He said the administration feels this is the best way to finish the year, without complications.
“Looking at the possible scenarios and the degree of uncertainty, we want to keep the campus community safe, and we have determined that this is the course of action that gives us the greatest control to insure that we can complete this semester successfully,” he said.
Arrangements are being made for students to return to campus to pick up their belongings that were left behind.
“Their things are safe in their dorms,” he continued. “We are going to enable students to come back to campus, to pick up, if they need, their computer or their textbooks or whatever; come back and get those things and not stay, and go back home.”
Students who have internships, clinicals or student-teaching assignments will be able to continue with those activities, if those institutions are open.
Temple University
Temple University Wednesday evening said they will end in-person classes on March 13, and will begin online classes March 16 until the end of the semester.
University offices will remain open, and staff will be reporting to work as usual.
Temple is also suspending all university-affiliated international travel for faculty, staff and students through the end of the spring semester.
Drexel University
Drexel is continuing to operate as normal.
It will cancel study abroad programs for the rest of the spring semester, except programs in countries that are unaffected.
The university said students should be prepared for the possibility that exams may be moved online next week.
Pennsylvania State University
Penn State students are being asked to stay away from campus through April 3.
The university says classes will be offered online until then. This applies to main and branch campuses.
Residence and campus dining halls won't be open.
The university hopes to resume classes in-person on April 6.
Saint Joseph’s University
In-person classes will transition to online formats, starting March 19 through April 9. University officials will reassess procedures at that time. At the earliest, classes may resume on April 14.
Spring break has been extended through March 18 to prepare for the transition.
University of the Arts
Currently, the university will continue courses as they are, but it extended its spring break another week to make preparations.
Residential students who need to return to campus to get personal items are allowed to retrieve them, but officials urge them not to stay long.
“Our goal in closing campus to students for a week is to limit the spread of germs and keep our community healthy,” read a statement.
Students who stayed in dorms during spring break and are unable to leave must contact the university for further instruction.
La Salle University
La Salle University is urging students who traveled over spring break to countries with COVID-19 — Italy, Iran, Japan and South Korea — to self-quarantine for 14 days. Faculty are asked to be flexible during this time.
The university also suspended all university-sponsored international travel.
Thomas Jefferson University
Thomas Jefferson University is prepared with a contingency plan, but for now, it is restricting students and faculty from school-related domestic travel, effective immediately through May 12.
The university strongly advises against university-related in-person gatherings or meetings. Instead, it recommends Zoom or Skype calls.
All university events through May 8 will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Lincoln University
Lincoln University is taking proactive measures and suspending in-person classes for the rest of the semester.
Classes are cancelled for the remainder of this week, and online instruction will begin on Monday.
All students in university housing are required to vacate their rooms by Sunday, for the remainder of the semester.
Faculty and staff members are expected to report to work.
Community colleges
The Community College of Philadelphia has postponed all non-essential events and student activities through March 31. The athletics center has also been closed.
All classes will continue as normal at this time.
Given the governor’s order to close schools and non-essential venues in Montgomery County, the Montgomery County Community College has suspended internal and community events on campus through March 30.
MCCC is working to make classes online, so instruction will be halted from March 23 to 29 while staff make courses available. Classes will resume online on March 30.
All classes at Bucks County Community College will be conducted remotely starting March 23 through April 30.
South Jersey colleges
Things are normal right now on campus at Rowan University, where spring break starts next week. But, students will be off for two weeks instead of one.
“We are extending it a week to give our professors the chance to convert their courses so they can offer them remotely,” Joe Cardona, vice president for university relations, said. “For some people, that’s easier than others. It involves our technology group as well as holding some workshops for people to help them.”
Spring break will begin as scheduled on March 16 and continue until March 30. Those currently taking classes online will see no change in schedule.
“I'm not saying that we are going to teach remotely,” Cardona added. “But if we do, that might happen quickly. So it’s better to be prepared on the front end so that we can do that later on if need be.”
The Glassboro campus will remain open, and the spring semester will not be extended.
At Rutgers University–Camden, however, they’re not waiting.
Classes are canceled Thursday and Friday, and when spring break ends on March 23, classes will be held online only for two weeks.
At Stockton University, spring break starts Thursday and has now been extended an extra day through March 24. Remote classes will be held through April 5.
It should be noted that no college campus has reported a hint of novel coronavirus, though they are advising students to be careful if they plan to travel over the break — particularly if those trips are out of the country.
University of Delaware
Four University of Delaware community members tested positive for COVID-19. As a result, UD is transitioning to online learning until further notice.
Classes are suspended through Friday, and spring break will be moved up and begin on Saturday.
Custodial services will still be provided for residence halls, which students are allowed to stay in if they need to. Students staying on campus during spring break must alert the university via its housing portal by Friday. Access cards will only work for students who completed the application.
There is no extra cost to housing or dining during this time.
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