WSU classes move online

Washington State University announced Wednesday it will transition all five campuses in its system to online instruction in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19.

In a message sent to students, faculty and staff, university leadership said the move will begin March 23, following the university’s weeklong spring break.

“Even though this is a WSU system decision, each campus or other location may have specific contexts that will determine some details of implementation,” the message read. “Any campus- or college-specific differences in implementation will be communicated separately by Chancellors and Deans in consultation with local public health officials.”

COVID-19 is caused by a new member of the coronavirus family that first appeared in the city of Wuhan in China’s Hubei Province in late 2019. The new coronavirus is related to MERS and SARS viruses that have caused outbreaks in the past.

As of Wednesday, the number of cases in Washington climbed to more than 270 with 24 deaths, most of those located on the west side of the state.

In an email sent Wednesday morning, the University of Idaho instructed faculty to prepare to transition their classes online, as well. All classes will be delivered electronically on March 23 and 24 as a test, the message said, “With a significant possibility of classes remaining online for some time.”

The UI message said its locations would remain open through the change as well but noted they may discourage large gatherings.

WSU spokesman Phil Weiler said leaders with the university’s extension campuses will work in conjunction with their local health departments to make the final call, but it is conceivable that they would return to face-to-face instruction relatively soon.

However, he said the residential nature of the Pullman campus makes it more difficult to reverse such decisions quickly.

“Not only do we have 6,000 students who live on campus, we have another 14,000 or so who are in apartments all throughout the Moscow-Pullman area,” Weiler said. “We will have to keep other things in mind as we look at what the end date will be — I think, practically speaking, it’s unlikely that we will return to face-to-face instruction here in Pullman prior to the end of the semester.”

Weiler said WSU campus locations will remain open for business operations through the semester. He said residential, health care and dining facilities will remain open on the school’s Pullman campus, as well — noting for some students, the residence halls are their only practical home.

Weiler said students will be able to access classes from wherever they are, whether from the dormitories, the west side of the state or beyond. He said the move is intended to give students the flexibility to access classes conveniently while making their own decisions about how best to limit risk. He said many may choose to stay where they are even through spring break.

“Moscow-Pullman is currently not experiencing COVID-19 the way, for example, King County is and so we wanted to be sensitive to the fact some students and parents may prefer their students to stay here,” Weiler said. “It may be frankly safer for them to stay here.”

Worried about how the shift will affect the local economy, Pullman city leaders issued a response to WSU’s shift to online instruction urging residents to continue supporting local businesses through the crisis. The release says the city will help connect struggling businesses to disaster loans through the Small Business Administration as they become available.

Scott Jackson can be reached at (208) 883-4636, or by email to sjackson@dnews.com.