Students at Loyola University Chicago started packing up their belongings Thursday as the school announced it was shifting to remote learning and closing its residence halls — in the middle of the semester — out of concerns over the coronavirus.
For Loyola’s students, “all in-person, face-to-face classes will be suspended,” beginning Friday and lasting through the end of the current semester, administrators said Thursday in a letter to faculty and staff.
Students are expected to leave residence halls at Loyola by the end of the day Thursday, March 19. “Exceptions and hardships” are set be considered on an “individual basis,” administrators said.
The school joined a wave of others — including the University of Illinois and Northwestern — in announcing in-person classes would be suspended. But Loyola, the University of Chicago and DePaul went further than others in essentially emptying out residence halls and forcing students to either return home or find other places to live.
“I have nowhere else to stay ... I have to go back home,” said Fedi Tadele, a freshmen from out of state who was actively packing and planning to leave Loyola’s Rogers Park campus this weekend.
Tadele said she is not confident about her classes transitioning to online courses as some of her professors are not great with technology. She is worried about whether she’ll be able to attend summer courses and whether she’ll get reimbursed for them if they are canceled, as well as housing costs.
Asked if students would receive refunds for meal and housing fees, a Loyola spokeswoman said, “The financial details are being worked out and will be communicated to students and their families as soon we can.”
The University of Chicago announced a similar arrangement Thursday, saying classes are set to shift online beginning March 30, officials said.
“Extensive preparations are in process under the provost’s leadership, and we will provide detailed guidance over the next week about remote teaching,” the university said in a news release.
On-campus housing at the U. of C. is expected to remain open through the end of the winter quarter, with students expected to vacate residence halls by 5 p.m. March 22, administrators said, and not return for spring quarter.
The university said it will continue to provide “housing, dining, health and other resources to students for whom travel restrictions or other circumstances require them to remain on campus for spring quarter.”
In a joint letter to faculty and students, U. of C. President Robert J. Zimmer and Provost Ka Yee C. Lee said:
“We will be acting collectively to prevent and slow the spread of the virus. We are committed to maintaining University research and daily operations, and ensuring that all students can realize their academic objectives, but we understand that doing so will present new challenges. We extend our appreciation in advance to our faculty, students, staff, and the University community for their collective efforts to fulfill the distinctive mission of the University in today’s deeply challenging environment.”
The University of Chicago Laboratory Schools is also moving to remote learning March 30.
