COVID-19 Community Update – March 9, 2020
Dear Northwest University community member,
Our approach since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak has been to follow the directives of Public Health—Seattle & King County. Although a range of options remain acceptable, we will move all face-to-face classes (traditional undergraduate, Adult Evening, and graduate) to remote teaching as of today, March 9, 2020. We plan to resume face-to-face classes on April 6 if circumstances allow. We should hear from Public Health by March 31 about whether their guidance has changed.
Residence halls and food services will remain open as usual. University offices will remain open as well. Employees should check with their supervisors about whether they can work from home. The Senior Leadership Team will work with supervisors to determine which employees are eligible for telecommuting.
Students will receive instructions from each of their professors about how they will conduct classes. Students who become ill should inform their professors and the Wellness Center (wellnesscenter@northwestu.edu). If NU community members test positive for Novel Coronavirus 2019, they should notify the Wellness Center. We want to be able to offer the best possible service to anyone who needs special attention.
Our Commencement Exercises are scheduled for May 9. We will announce a decision about how we plan to follow through with honoring graduates as the situation emerges, keeping in mind that families would need time to make travel plans. Similarly, we will announce decisions about travel plans for student groups by the latter part of April.
We deeply lament the spread of COVID-19 and the loss of lives it has entailed. We are also sorry for the inconvenience it has brought to our students and employees. We will continue praying for our community and working to serve everyone well.
Sincerely,
Joseph Castleberry, Ed.D.
President, Northwest University