Goshen College moves classes online beginning March 19

Goshen College's campus will remain open, but classes will be moved online as of March 19. All large gatherings and public events have been cancelled.

President Rebecca Stoltzfus and the college’s Crisis Management Team released the following statement:

Goshen College’s top priority is the health and safety of our students, our employees and our broader community. At this time, the risk of contracting COVID-19 in Goshen is low, and there are no confirmed cases in our county. Nonetheless, Goshen College is rapidly ramping up mitigation efforts to keep our community as safe as possible, also supporting students to continue learning well and to complete their courses successfully.

We are not closing and will remain a residential campus (dining service, RFC, library, residence halls, etc.). At the same time, we are making the following changes to our approach as a campus in responding to COVID-19, until further notice:

Over the next week, we will move from in-person instruction to online instruction wherever possible. Classes will continue March 16-18 (Monday-Wednesday). On March 19 and 20 (Thursday and Friday), normal class schedules will be replaced with training opportunities to prepare for this change for faculty and students. Classes will resume Monday, March 23 in their new format. More information will be communicated to you as soon as possible.

We will work to accommodate any member of our campus community who has reasons to further limit their in-person engagement. Students should be in conversation with Corie Steinke. Employees should talk with their supervisor.

We will not hold large gatherings and public campus events. Chapel and convocation events are canceled for the rest of the semester and students will receive credit during this period of time.

Athletic competitions are suspended until April 1.

Study-Service Term (SST) students in Tanzania and Ecuador are currently on service assignments and in stable contexts in the last weeks of their term. We will be in direct communication with students in off-campus May term courses and summer SST units.

Additional information on these changes will follow with specific details for faculty, staff and students.

There is no doubt these changes will disrupt and inconvenience our campus community. However, we strongly believe these short-term disruptions will greatly reduce the risk of significant long-term negative consequences.

Please remember that we are all responsible for our community’s well-being. Being a strong community for each other is one of our greatest strengths. We reiterate that the best actions we can each take right now are strong preventative measures and good hygiene, so please take good care of yourselves and each other.

We will continue to evaluate new information as it develops and share updates as they become available. Learn more about our campus response to COVID-19 at: goshen.edu/coronavirus.

Thank you for your patience and support through this evolving and difficult situation.

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