Le Moyne College students won’t return to campus until at least March 23

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — As it continues to monitor the coronavirus situation, Le Moyne College has decided not to bring students back from spring break until at least March 23.

The extended break will allow time for “transition,” as the school “considers” a move to online delivery for both undergraduate and graduate instruction, the school said in an online news release.

Le Moyne wants its students to remain at home during the week of March 16, as they were scheduled to return to campus on March 15. Those students who need to be on campus “given their personal situation” must get permission from the school’s office of residence life.

Le Moyne faculty will use the extra time to “become equipped” to use Canvas, Zoom and other technology that will allow them to teach courses online in the event the school  needs to shift to distance education for some or all of the remainder of the spring semester.

The plan for the formal resumption of classes will depend on how the coronavirus situation unfolds, the school said.

Classes will resume March 23, either in person as per usual or will be delivered online. That decision will be made “as soon as possible” during the week of March 16 to give students enough time to make plans to return to campus the weekend of March 21 and 22, if need be.

If Le Moyne decides to move to online instruction the week of March 23, students “will remain at home during that week.”

“We recognize that this change is a major disruption to the semester and is no doubt unsettling for some,” Le Moyne President Linda LeMura said. “Please understand that the overriding reason behind this decision is to do everything we can to preserve the health and safety of all members of the Le Moyne community and all the communities we serve.”

Contact Reinhardt at ereinhardt@cnybj.com