University of Washington moves classes online over virus fears; EWU moves finals online, up

Despite the University of Washington’s announcement Friday to move all classes online, Washington State University, Idaho and other area colleges will continue holding classes while monitoring developments with the coronavirus outbreak, officials said.

Washington said it will stop classes for nearly 60,000 students at its three campuses. The change will take effect Monday and run through the end of winter quarter on March 13.

WSU spokesman Phil Weiler said a similar shift to online-only classes would have been much more difficult at its five campuses because Washington State operates on a two-semester calendar rather than UW’s four-quarter system.

Because of that, the move to online classes will affect only a couple weeks of classes for UW students. WSU will still have nine weeks of classes remaining after its students return from spring break on March 16, Weiler said.

“We have been working aggressively with faculty to get as many ready to teach online if we need to do that,” Weiler said. “We are not at that stage.”

Officials have reported over 70 confirmed COVID-19 cases, most in the Seattle area. According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been 13 coronavirus deaths in Washington state.

King County, which is dealing with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, announced this week that it is buying a motel to quarantine coronavirus patients.

The University of Washington also announced on its website that a staff member who works in Seattle had tested positive for COVID-19. The school said the worker was self-isolating at home and that the building the person worked in has been closed as a precaution.

WSU’s Weiler said the school on Thursday did close its Everett campus, which is located across the street from Everett Community College, which also had shut down. However, Weiler said the WSU Everett location is scheduled to open this weekend.

“We are doing an in-depth cleaning over the weekend so they can start up again on Sunday,” he said.

Dave Meany, spokesman for Eastern Washington University, said university officials have asked professors to convert finals, scheduled to occur in two weeks, to test online where they can.

If online finals are not feasible and need to be administered in person, the professors are being asked to move up the date of the tests to next week, he said. EWU spring break is scheduled for the week of March 23.

“After spring break, it will be normal operations as of how things stand today,” Meany said.

In an email sent to Gonzaga University staff and faculty, university President Thayne McCulloh noted the reality is that more coronavirus cases likely will emerge with expanded testing.

“Our Emergency Management Team is meeting daily … to be prepared for many scenarios as the epidemic evolves,” McCulloh wrote. “Even if these measures are not ultimately needed, ensuring we are prepared for disruptions now will serve us well in the future.”

Jodi Walker, spokeswoman for the University of Idaho, said school officials, like those at WSU, continue to prepare for online classes but have not taken that step.

“We are not changing our day-to-day operations at this point, but are continuing to monitor,” Walker wrote in an email. “We will continue with disinfecting, cleaning and monitoring the impact to campus over spring break.”

Trisha Coder, spokeswoman for Whitworth University, and North Idaho College spokesman Laura Rumpler, both said their schools continue to monitor the situation.

“But as this situation is ever-changing, we are of course discussing alternate plans if needed,” Coder said.

Whitworth has added a new page on its website with current updates and commonly asked questions to keep students informed, she said.

“At this time, all North Idaho College operations, including classes, events and activities, will continue as scheduled,” Rumpler said. “We are all keeping a keen eye on what is evolving in the state of Washington.”

Weiler, at WSU, said the university already had a large number of faculty who use online classes. Additionally, WSU is hosting webinars three times a day to get other professors ready.

“We have a long history” with offering online classes, Weiler said. “Virtually all of our students take one or more online classes. Now, we are making sure all (professors) are ready to go if we have to make that decision.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.