UAFS suspends in-person classes

The University of Arkansas at Fort Smith suspended on-campus classes effective at 5 p.m. Friday over concerns about the spread of the new coronavirus, Chancellor Terisa Riley said in a message to the campus.

With the announcement, all of the state’s 11 public university campuses have either suspended in-person classes or announced a date this month when they will do so, with the first campuses doing so Wednesday.

Also on Friday, Hendrix College said it was suspending in-person classes effective at the end of the day. W. Ellis Arnold III, president of the private college in Conway, said campus operations would stay open as the school transitions “to synchronous remote learning after Spring Break for the remainder of this semester.”

Philander Smith College, another private instutition, said it would suspend in-person classes effective March 23, after its spring break.

At UA-Fort Smith, Riley noted that the “situation has evolved rapidly in Arkansas” and that decision to extend spring break by a week will “allow us to begin practicing social distancing.”

The Fort Smith university’s scheduled spring break, like that of many Arkansas schools, is from March 23-27.

On March 30, classes will resume “either as usual or remotely,” Riley said. The decision about whether to move to remote instruction is scheduled to be announced March 26.

The university had a total enrollment of 6,265 students as of last fall, according to the state Division of Higher Education.

The decision follows a flurry of announcements Thursday of Arkansas colleges suspending in-person classes to move to remote methods of instruction, with a large number of colleges and universities in the U.S. taking similar steps.

“To be clear, this is not a closure,” Riley said. “University operations will continue, staff and faculty will report to campus as scheduled, and limited housing, dining, computer labs, and library services will remain in operation.”

She said the time without on-campus classes will also be used to “deep clean and disinfect the entire campus.”