Lang
3/18/20
The University of Iowa has taken dramatic steps to combat the spread of COVID-19, including closing residence halls, canceling spring commencement and having employees work off-campus.
According to a UI news release, to reduce the number of students spending time in close quarters, the school will close its residence halls and on-campus housing starting Thursday.
Procedures for an orderly move-out and transition policies, including retrieving essential items, will be provided to housing residents via email and published on the University Housing & Dining website: housing.uiowa.edu.
The UI asks that students do not return to the residence halls until their designated time to move out. If a student is currently on campus for spring break, they should begin preparations to move out. The school will continue to accommodate students who cannot immediately return to their permanent residence. Requests to remain in the residence halls will be submitted online.
Information about refunds to those with housing and dining contracts will be coming soon.
The UI also announced the cancellation of spring commencement ceremonies. Details on an alternative celebration for graduating Hawkeyes will be shared soon.
Also, in order to give students and faculty additional time to transition to online teaching, the university is delaying the start of virtual instruction by one week. Courses will now resume Monday, March 30, and will be conducted virtually through the rest of the spring semester.
Students in courses with a clinical component or fieldwork will receive further information from the academic leaders in their programs about how those will be addressed.
All other UI events will be canceled, postponed, or conducted virtually for the remainder of the spring semester.
The school is asking all employees outside of UI Health Care to work remotely unless the critical function they provide must be completed on campus. The UI Department of Public Safety has recommended and the Critical Incident Management Team has approved limiting building access, when possible, to authorized personnel only. In order to limit community spread of COVID-19 and protect university property, building entrances will be locked but will remain accessible by those who have access cards or keys. This excludes UI Health Care and Student Health, which have implemented their own building security measures.
Other campus buildings closed until further notice include all UI libraries, the Iowa Memorial Union, and Hancher Auditorium.
More information on all of these developments and others can be found on the university’s official website for COVID-19 updates: coronavirus.uiowa.edu.