CMU moves to remote instruction, cancels class Monday and Tuesday

Carnegie Mellon’s Pittsburgh campus has moved to online-only instruction in an effort to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. University President Farnam Jahanian provided a statement to students and the university community, writing in a campus-wide email, “All CMU graduate and undergraduate programs on the Pittsburgh campus will move to remote, virtual or alternative teaching and assessment.” The university is asking students and faculty to plan for remote instruction to continue through the end of the semester. The campuses in Silicon Valley and Qatar have already moved to online instruction.

Classes are canceled on March 16 and 17 to give faculty time to prepare for the shift. Classes resume on March 18 via remote instruction. At this time, no students are being forced to leave campus. However, the initial statement from Jahanian encourages students to stay away from campus, if possible. A recent statement from the Provost, Jim Garrett, urges students who are already away from campus to not return. The amount of money left on Housing and Dining plans will be pro-rated and will be refunded to students. Housing and Dining services will still be available for those returning to campus with changed hours.

Campus operations will continue for now, with ongoing research projects remaining in action. There will be more instructions to come for those students and faculty involved in campus research projects. The university is investigating the possibility of student workers and staff working remotely.

All student events for the semester have been cancelled. This includes Carnival and Greek Sing, but there has been no announcement as to the state of Commencement. Individual student organizations will be contacted by SLICE in the future with more information. Additionally, all sports have been cancelled for the rest of the semester. This includes intramural, club, and varsity sports.

All domestic travel-related to Carnegie Mellon business has been canceled at this time.

Jahanian ended the initial email to students by writing:

" To our students, I recognize this is a disheartening step to have to take, and the decision to depart from the in-person educational and residential experience that we value so highly was not made lightly. I am especially sensitive to the disappointment our graduating students may be feeling as you lament the loss of the campus experience during your last semester at CMU. We recognize this impact and we feel your sadness as well.

I want to express my appreciation to the people who have been working diligently to prepare for this transition, including countless faculty, staff, and student leaders. The coming days and weeks will undoubtedly bring questions and uncertainties that we need to resolve together. University leadership is working quickly and thoughtfully to plan for the impacts these decisions will have, and they will communicate additional guidance in the coming days. You can also continue to refer to our CMU-Alert webpage for updated information. "

According to Jahanian's email, there are currently no cases reported in the Pittsburgh area or on any Carnegie Mellon campus. Professors are asked to reach out to students in the coming days to define procedures going forward for individual classes.

Students at Carnegie Mellon have started to organize donations to help students in need. The spreadsheet to help can be found here.

The reporting on this situation is ongoing. We will continue to update this article. Check back to thetartan.org for more reporting on coronavirus in the coming days and weeks.