March 11, 2020 COVID-19 Update

UNC Asheville’s emergency response team routinely monitors situations that could affect campus. Physicians and staff are in regular contact with the UNC System, and local and state public health officials, following recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). We remain vigilant and will continue to work closely with public health officials should we encounter any suspect illnesses.

Please continue to check back here for updates regarding COVID-19.

Update: March 11, 2020

• Spring Break will be extended by one additional week.
• UNC Asheville will remain open as mandated by the UNC System.
• Course instruction will resume on March 23, but will move from in-person to remote delivery through at least April 6. In many cases, remote delivery will mean online, but you will hear details about your particular courses sometime during the next week.
• We encourage students to refrain from returning to campus and to continue their course instruction online from a location of their choice.
• Campus events of more than 50 attendees are canceled effective immediately. Visiting speaker events will be canceled or postponed.
• University-sponsored travel outside the State of North Carolina or within the State to gatherings of 50 or more people, is suspended unless prior written authorization to travel is given by the Chancellor or the Provost. This prohibition includes student organizations.
• Any students, faculty and staff who elect to engage in personal travel to any Level 2 or Level 3 country will be expected to self-quarantine off-campus for a minimum of 14 days and not return to campus unless they are free of symptoms.
• Please check the Health and Counseling website for updates: https://healthandcounseling.unca.edu/covid-19/

We continue to monitor the evolving situation regarding COVID-19. Please know that currently there are no known cases at UNC Asheville. Today after a briefing from UNC System leaders, the following University leaders met to assess our situation and plan for our responses (Chancellor Cable, Provost Campbell, Bill Haggard, Heather Parlier, Janet Cone, Darin Waters, Shannon Earle, Sarah Broberg, Laura Herndon, Melissa Himelein, David Weldon, and Jay Cutspec).

Per the most recent mandate from the UNC System, UNC Asheville will extend spring break by one additional week. No academic instruction will be offered the week of March 16.

All courses will transition from in-person instruction to remote delivery beginning March 23. In most cases, this will mean online delivery. At the current moment, this will extend to at least April 6. Details about each course will be determined next week.

For the health and safety of our community, we are currently developing protocols for those returning to campus. We recognize that some students will need to return to campus, so the campus will be open, including residence halls and Brown Hall, Ramsey Library and Health and Counseling. However, we strongly encourage all students to remain off campus until further notice.

Those students who elect to engage in personal travel to any CDC-designated Level 2 or Level 3 countries and have symptoms including fever or signs/symptoms of lower respiratory illness (e.g. cough or shortness of breath) should self-quarantine off campus for a minimum of 14 days and contact Jay Cutspec, Director of UNC Asheville’s Health and Counseling Center at jcutspec@unca.edu.

Any faculty or staff electing to engage in personal travel to CDC-designated Level 2 and 3 countries should self-quarantine off campus for a minimum of 14 days and contact Christy Williams, Associate Director of Human Resources at cwilliam@unca.edu.

On campus events or University-organized off campus events of more than 50 attendees are canceled effective immediately and event organizers will postpone, cancel or explore virtual options for any University-affiliated event of more than 50 people both on- and off-campus until further notice. In the interest of public health, we actively discourage anyone from attending any event of more than 50 people to help mitigate potential exposure to COVID-19 and protect the health of our community at large.

University-sponsored travel outside the State of North Carolina, or within the State to gatherings of 100 or more people, is suspended unless prior written authorization to travel is given by the Chancellor or the Provost. This prohibition includes student organizations.

We all have a responsibility to act in the interest of the common good. The health, well-being and safety of our community is our top priority. Any actions we are undertaking are to mitigate the health risk to our entire community.

As a reminder, any students, faculty and staff who elect to engage in personal travel to any Level 2 or Level 3 country will be expected to self-quarantine off-campus for a minimum of 14 days and not return to campus unless they are free of symptoms. This includes situations in which the level rises to 2 while on the trip. This is crucial for the health and well-being of our campus community, particularly for those who may be immunocompromised.

For the most recent and accurate updates on COVID-19 please visit the CDC website: https://www.cdc.gov/media/dpk/diseases-and-conditions/coronavirus/coronavirus-2020.html

We will continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide frequent updates as the situation unfolds.