Universities and colleges across the region are responding as COVID-19 cases spread across the the nation. See the latest actions taken by area administrators below.
DANVILLE AREA COMMUNITY COLLEGE:
On Thursday, Danville Area Community College officials announced spring break for students will begin March 16th and continute through March 27th.
Leaders say College Express students will remain with their high schools March 16-20.
At the end of the regularly scheduled spring break, officials say they'll re-evalutate the situation.
Should conditions warrant, e-learning for lecture classes would begin March 30th.
EASTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY:
Eastern Illinois University President David Glassman announced a number of measures the university is taking amid the COVID-19 pandemic Thursday.
Glassman says the university will extend its spring break for students through March 29th; no classes will be held during this time.
Graduate assistants and student workers are to report back to work March 23rd, unless told otherwise by their unit supervisors.
Faculty memebers are expected to also return to work March 23rd to begin transitioning face-to-face courses to online or alternative methods.
When university courses resume March 30th, courses will be delivered through online instruction and other alternative methods until further notice.
Glassman says students will have the option of studying remotely from their campus residence or from home after spring break.
The university and all of its offices will remain open during this time period.
Residence halls and Greek Court will close throughout the previously scheduled spring break, but studetns will be allowed to return March 23rd.
Effective Thursday, Eastern is suspending all university-sponsored, non-essential domestic and international travel until further notice.
Leaders strongly discourage personal international travel and urge caution for personal domestic travel.
Glassman also says, effective March 16th, events at EIU with 50 or more anticipated attendees are postponed through at least May 1st.
This includes all activities and events associated with Greek Week 2020.
Students, staff, and faculty are urged to closely monitor their official EIU email accounts for further updates from the university.
ILLINOIS STATE UNIVERSITY:
ISU President Larry Dietz announced Wednesday evening the university will be extending spring break for students until March 23rd.
Faculty, staff, and graduate assistants will resume their work the week of March 15th.
Dietz says when instructional activities resume March 23rd, the university will transition from face-to-face teaching to online instruction and/or other instructional modalities through at least April 12, though that timeframe is subject to change depending on evolving circumstances.
He also announced university-operated housing is currently closed.
Dietz says ISU students should remain at their permanent home residences until further notice, and students now living in residence halls, Cardinal Court Apartments, or University-owned apartments should return to their permanent home residences.
Accommodations for those who cannot return home will be addressed on a case-by-case basis. Students will be informed regarding procedures for retrieving needed items from their University housing rooms.
INDIANA STATE UNIVERSITY:
ISU President Deborah Curtis announced Thursday the university will transition to online-only instruction beginning March 16th.
Spring break will be oberserved the week of March 23rd, followed by two additional weeks of online-only instruction.
Curtis says the campus will not be closed during the next four weeks.
While campus officies and services will remain open, university officials are encouraging students to do their online-instruction away from campus.
The university says on-campus university and student events are cancelled, with rare exceptions.
Curtis says there are no known cases of COVID-19 at Indiana State University or Vigo County.
IVY TECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE:
Ivy Tech President Sue Ellspermann announced Thursday they will delay the start of all courses until March 23rd.
After the 23rd, all courses will be delivered virtually or other methods through April 5th.
Ivy Tech campuses and sites will remain open to provide student and business office assistance.
LAKE LAND COLLEGE:
Lake Land College officials announced Thursday spring break for students will be extended through March 22nd.
They say once classes resume March 23rd, the college will transition from face-to-face teaching to online instruction until further notice.
The college and all of its officies will remain open during this time period, and faculty and staff will continue with their regular schedule.
LLC says events that are scheduled to held on any campus will be suspended until further notice.
LINCOLN LAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE:
LLCC President Charlotte Warren announced spring break for students will be extended by an additional week (March 16-22) for all classes.
During this time, Warren says the college will be open and staff should report to work as usual.
Faculty should begin preparing to instruct students remotely starting March 23rd.
MILLIKIN UNIVERSITY:
Millikin President Patrick White announced Thursday the university will extend spring break for one week from March 16th through March 23rd.
After break, all Millikin courses will be delivered in an online fashion or other distant learning modes for rest of the semester.
White says students will be encouraged to stay at home, but residence halls will remain open for students needing to remain on campus, though they may be consolidated.
He says students who are spending the rest of the semester at home may pick up their belongings March 16-20 during normal business hours.
Dining services will remain open but will be altered to serve fewer students with more portable offerings to discourage gatherings.
White announced all Millikin on-campus events between March 16th and April 30th are cancelled, and decisions regarding commencement will be made by mid-April.
Millikin University employees should report to work as scheduled and continue with their duties as assigned.
PARKLAND COLLEGE:
Parkland College in Champaign has decided to shift as many courses as possible to an online format starting March 23rd.
School officials said lecture components of all courses will move online, while lab and studio components of all course will continue to meet on-campus.
RICHLAND COMMUNITY COLLEGE:
On Thursday, Richland Community College decided to extend spring break for students only through Monday, March 23.
They will utilize the week of March 16 to assess and develop a plan to modify instructional delivery beginning March 23.
The college is not closing; all employees will continue to report to work.
Following the student spring break, leaders say online instruction will begin March 23 and continue through April 3, at which time they will re-assess the situation.
On-campus functions will be cancelled or postponed during this time.
ROSE-HULMAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY:
Rose-Hulman officials have cancelled classes for Friday, March 13th.
They say they will move spring break (orginally scheduled April 11-19) to March 13-22 to allow faculty, administrators, and support staff to prepare for a virtual, e-learning environment.
The insitute plans to conduct classes online beginning March 23rd through April 19th, at minimum.
All classrooms, labs, and learning facilities, and Logan Library, will be closed to students during this time, but residence halls, the campus, and Mussallem Union will remain open, as well as dining services.
SAINT MARY-OF-THE-WOODS COLLEGE:
St. Mary-of-the-Woods College officials announced Friday that as of March 18th through April 3rd, SMWC will transition their academic curriculum to an online-only format.
Administrators say classes on March 16th and 17th will be canceled to prepare for online instruction, the college will remain open.
They say Residential Housing/Services will continue to remain open providing all services until a directive from public health officials states otherwise.
Effective immediately, residential floors will be restricted to SMWC residential/commuter students only for the remainder of the semester.
O’Shaughnessy will continue to be open for student, faculty and staff dining.
The Sisters of Providence will be limiting their access to the area.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY:
SIU Carbondale announced Wednesday they'll be extending spring break for students through March 22nd to allow faculty to transition course material to alternative formats.
Effective March 23rd, leaders say classes will be offered in online or other alternative formats until further notice.
The university's operations will continue, and it'll remain open.
SIU students will have opitions for returning to campus either to study or retrieve materials.
SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY - EDWARDSVILLE:
Wednesday evening, SIUe Chancellor Randall Pembrook said the university is cancelling all in-person instruction and on-campus learning through March 22nd.
Students are on spring break until March 15th.
He says students are not expected to return to campus, but they will not be forbidden from doing so if they feel that is their safest option.
Pembrook says officials will use this period to monitor the situation and plan for additional contingencies.
UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS:
U of I officials are transitioning to online or alternative delivery mechanisms to limit transmission of the virus by March 23rd, in all locations, including Urbana-Champaign, Springfield, and Chicago.
The online and other alternative learning methods will continue until further notice, but leaders expect those methods to be temporary.
Students will have the option of studying remotely from home or from their campus residence after spring break, but the campuses will remain open and ready to serve students, including residence and dining halls.
WESTERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY:
Western Illinois University Interim President Martin Abraham announced classes at WIU are cancelled from March 14th through March 20th.
Abraham says classes will resume in an alternative format beginning March 21st and will continue in that format until at least April 3rd.
He says residence halls will reopen at 10 a.m. as scheduled March 15th, but students can stay in at their permanent residences until further notice.
While classes are cancelled next week, the university will remain open, and all faculty and staff should resume their normal work schedule.
Note: Classes at Northern Illinois University and Northwestern University in Evanston are also being altered.
THIS STORY WAS LAST UPDATED AT 7:00 PM MARCH 13, 2020.
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