Marquette is suspending classes

[Sir Lawrence]

March 16-20 no classes
March 23- April 10 online courses

[Sir Lawrence]

Full email from the University:

Dear Marquette community,
Marquette University is committed to protecting the health, safety, and wellbeing of our
students, faculty, staff, and visitors. We are therefore carefully monitoring the evolving
developments related to COVID-19 (the coronavirus outbreak). At present there are still no
confirmed cases of COVID-19 at Marquette and there has been only one confirmed case in
Milwaukee.
Nevertheless, the highly contagious character of the virus and the danger it can pose to
vulnerable populations demand that, as far as possible, we take precautions to protect all
members of our Marquette community and those with whom we come in contact from
possible infection. Indeed, our Catholic foundation, as well as our Jesuit commitment
to cura personalis (care for the whole person) call us to be especially vigilant in preventing
the spread of COVID-19.
Therefore, after careful consideration of the many dimensions of our campus life, our
mission to our students, and our responsibility to one another, and based on clear and
convincing medical evidence about the university’s ability to contain a spread of the virus
on campus, Marquette University announces several major changes:
From March 16 through March 20, in-person classes are suspended. Faculty
will receive training in online course deployment and will be working to develop a
plan for moving instruction online. This is NOT an extension of spring break;
students should complete their assigned readings and coursework. Faculty will
follow up with specific instructions for their classes.
From March 23 through April 10, all instruction will be accomplished online.
Students who live in on-campus residence halls and university-owned
apartments are directed not to return to campus before April 10. Those who live
in off-campus housing are asked to use their best judgment on whether to return and
to avoid campus facilities to the extent possible.
The university is suspending all on-campus university-sponsored events with
more than 50 attendees until at least April 10.
Throughout this period, we will assess our options for the remainder of the semester based
on the spread of the virus. These decisions were made with the endorsement of the
executive committees of the Marquette University Board of Trustees, Academic Senate
and Student Government; as well as the University Leadership Council; Staff Senate; the
Office of Mission and Ministry; and the Marquette University Medical Clinic.
It is not our intention to make blanket decisions without taking into account students’
unique circumstances. Students whose circumstances require them to return to their oncampus
residence to retrieve essential items should fill out this form so that we can
communicate directly with them about proper protocols and provide appropriate support.
Students whose circumstances require them to return to their on-campus residence to
collect essential belongings should arrive on Sunday, March 15, between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.
Staff will provide direction at the front desk.
There are several important things to know:
Next week (the week of March 16) will be used to develop plans for continuity of
learning and university operations. Work groups are addressing continuity plans for
business operations and potentially having faculty and staff work off-site, depending
on the impacts of the virus. As the university is continuing its operations, faculty and
staff are expected to work during this time. In the spirit of cura personalis, any
employee who feels uncomfortable coming into work can talk with their supervisor
about working from home.
Not all students are affected by this decision. Please see below for exceptions.
During this period, the university remains open. To the extent possible, we will aim to
continue with normal operations, although we recognize that usual business may
need to be conducted by phone/virtual meetings. We know that many students have
appointments scheduled on campus in the coming weeks — with advisers,
Counseling Center staff, the Office of Student Affairs, etc. We encourage students to
keep those scheduled appointments by phone/video meetings if you can do so and if
the faculty and staff you are meeting with are able to accommodate the
appointments through alternate means.
The following resources are available for those who need support:
Office of International Education
Division of Student Affairs
Counseling Center (students)
Employee Assistance Program (faculty and staff)
Campus Ministry (students)
Faber Center (faculty and staff)
It is important to note that this suspension of in-person instruction and on-campus learning
does not apply to:
Graduate assistants, teaching assistants and research assistants should work with
their department chairs or direct supervisors to continue their responsibilities
Scheduled online courses
In-progress research activities (unless otherwise directed by the faculty members
leading the research teams)
On-campus clinics are working to determine their operations going forward, and that
information will be communicated in the near-term
Experiential learning opportunities that take place off campus, such as internships,
clinical rotations, student teaching, etc., will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Students should contact their Dean’s Office for further instructions.
New travel restrictions
As noted yesterday, Marquette is restricting all new, non-essential university-sponsored
travel (domestic and international) until further notice. Trips currently taking place are not
being recalled. This difficult decision was made in consultation with our campus’ infectious
disease experts in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. Faculty and staff should
work with their supervisors to determine which travel is essential.
Any faculty, student or staff who has traveled internationally, including cruise ship travel, or
from any domestic states with known community transmission) MUST SELFQUARANTINE
for 14 days before returning to campus. Those who are 14 days symptom
free may return to campus. You can work and learn online per university policy. Visitors to
Marquette are being asked to follow these same guidelines. Visitors to Marquette are being
asked to follow these same guidelines.
Additionally, the Office of International Education is strongly recommending that students
currently studying at all locations in continental Europe (excluding Great Britain and
Ireland) return immediately to the United States.
Communication going forward
We understand that these decisions have campuswide implications, many of them
interdependent. We have a dedicated team working through these complex issues to
identify the best courses of action in the coming days and weeks. We will follow up with
additional information soon and are updating the FAQs on our COVID-19 website. Our top
priority today was letting you know this decision as soon as possible so you that you may
plan ahead.
Further, going forward, we will be providing frequent updates via Marquette Today allcampus
emails, as well as campuswide emails when there is breaking news or urgent
decisions to announce. We will also update our COVID-19 website as soon as possible to
reflect all of these changes. Additional questions can be directed to Marquette Central at
(414) 288-4000. Students in particular colleges and schools also may receive
separate communications from their deans’ offices with additional program-specific
information.
In keeping with the long tradition of Jesuit missionary efforts, we are addressing this
evolving situation according to our guiding principles, but with the flexibility to adapt nimbly
as conditions change. We ask your continued patience as leaders and medical
professionals work through this complicated issue. We remain committed to the health,
safety and wellbeing of our entire Marquette community, and we will work to ensure that
students receive the quality education they demand from us and that they are academically
successful and prepared to graduate on schedule.
We offer our prayers for healthy days and months ahead.
Dr. Michael R. Lovell
President
Dr. Kimo Ah Yun
Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs
Joel Pogodzinski
Senior vice president and chief operating officer

[StillAWarrior]

"As noted yesterday, Marquette is restricting all new, non-essential university-sponsored
travel (domestic and international) until further notice. Trips currently taking place are not
being recalled."


So...in the extremely unlikely event that the tournament doesn't get cancelled...does that mean MU won't accept a bid?  For the record, I think pretty much all schools are saying the same thing.  I think it's time to just acknowledge there will be no tournament this year.

[#UnleashSean]

Can I say I called it?

https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=59849.msg1220673#msg1220673

[forgetful]

"As noted yesterday, Marquette is restricting all new, non-essential university-sponsored
travel (domestic and international) until further notice. Trips currently taking place are not
being recalled."


So...in the extremely unlikely event that the tournament doesn't get cancelled...does that mean MU won't accept a bid?  For the record, I think pretty much all schools are saying the same thing.  I think it's time to just acknowledge there will be no tournament this year.

The key word there is "non-essential" travel. Universities typically allow one to petition for your travel being required for your field. It has, in part, been put in that way to still allow sports teams to travel.

That caveat may be out now though with recent changes.

[MUfan12]

Can I say I called it?

https://www.muscoop.com/index.php?topic=59849.msg1220673#msg1220673

Bold call.

[wadesworld]

I thought Lovell and the powers that be were just sitting back enjoying their time in NYC and not worrying about how to handle the coronavirus issue?

[muwarrior69]

So do all science courses get incompletes as I am not sure how you can do lab work online.

[Jables1604]

Loyola-Chicago is closing for the semester. All classes will be online. Dorms have to be vacated by a week from today the the masters. Have to head out this weekend and put all of my nephew’s things in storage.

[Macallan 18]

So do all science courses get incompletes as I am not sure how you can do lab work online.

Yes, not all lab work can be done remotely, but there are quite a few interactive lab simulations available - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/18iVSIeOqKjj58xcR8dYJS5rYvzZ4X1UGLWhl3brRzCM/edit#gid=0

There are also lab kits that can be sent to students to do lab work at home - http://landing.carolina.com/distance-learning