Update: Cabrini moves to all digital instruction because of the new coronavirus

By Amanda Zacharias
March 12, 2020

Cabrini University has decided to move all classes online for the remainder of the semester, according to university President Donald Taylor.

Starting Monday, March 16, and continuing through Sunday, March 22 there will be no classes. This time will be used for teachers to prepare for this digital transformation.

Starting Monday, March 23, and continuing through the rest of the semester, all classes will resume online.

“Beginning 8 a.m. on Monday there are no classes for all of next week and that allows the faculty time to transition,” Taylor said.

This decision came from President Donald Taylor. An email notification was sent to the Cabrini community with more information being made available on the website.

“The situation is evolving so rapidly that literally now rather than making daily decisions with every hour you have more data input to make major decisions,” Taylor said.

This change of operation status came after the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 virus a global pandemic.

“We do not follow the lead of the big institutions,” Brian Eury, chief of staff and vice president of external relations, said. “However, when they start making those decisions it starts this concern among parents ‘why are they (other schools) closing and why aren’t you.’”

Eury said that within the past 24 hours phone calls to the university had doubled over concerns of student safety. President Taylor commented that also within the last 24 hours, 13 colleges and universities have closed within Pennsylvania. These schools include Villanova, Penn State and Temple.

Residence halls and other school facilities will remain open at this time, according to Taylor. Facilities include the bookstore, dining, Dixon Center, dorms and support services. The provost, deans and all administration will remain on campus as well. For students who rely on library resources, such as computers, the facility will remain open.

Taylor described this situation as “snowballing” as new information is being made available at a rapid pace and decisions can be changed at any time.

This week-long period of suspended classes is a “time-out system to give teachers the chance to catch up,” Taylor said. The transition of digital learning includes class material, assignments and other instructional materials being loaded onto the Cabrini Learn site.

The situation will be constantly assessed as information is learned.

For students who are student-teaching they should follow the rules of their host schools.

Work-study students will not have any negative impact should they choose to leave campus and return home, according to Eury. If those students choose to remain on campus, it will be business as usual.

As of now, graduation plans have not been impacted and will be assessed on a weekly basis.

Starting Monday, March 16, all athletics are suspended indefinitely and will be monitored by the NCAA conference. Games between now and the 16th will continue with essential personnel only, provided that the other team agrees to play.

Cleaning efforts will be heightened with a priority on residence halls.

President Taylor announced March 12 that the remaining Spring semester will finish up online. Important dates listed above. Infographic by Amy Kodrich

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Amanda Zacharias

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