Penn State plans to announce Wednesday whether the rest of the semester will continue remotely in response to COVID-19. President Eric Barron made that remark during Tuesday’s Faculty Senate meeting while responding to questions.
“It is the best thing to say we will answer this question tomorrow,” Barron said when asked if faculty will be delivering classes remotely for the rest of the semester. “Because, we just don’t want to get ahead of ourselves, as we contemplate many, many different issues that are related to that decision.”
The Faculty Senate meeting, like many, was held remotely online.
The university announced March 11 that it was moving to remote learning for the three weeks following spring break — until at least April 6.
Since then, COVID-19 has continued to spread across the state. On Monday, Gov. Tom Wolf announced a statewide shutdown.
Barron and Provost Nick Jones said they are also working on guidelines for refunds for Penn State-affiliated daycares that have been suspended.
“We absolutely understand that it doesn’t seem right to be paying for a service you are not receiving,” Jones said.
The university announced Monday it will issue prorated reimbursements for housing and meal plans, with details to come.
