EWU moves all instruction online after Thanksgiving

CHENEY – Eastern Washington University has announced that will offer online only instruction after the Thanksgiving/Native American Heritage holiday break.

In a news release today, Aug. 12, university officials said the move is designed to keep students safe by minimizing health-related disruptions while maintaining attentiveness to public health concerns. The move should help limit travel to and from Cheney after the Thanksgiving break, Nov. 25 – 27, although students who live in the residence halls may return to campus after the break if they chose to do so.

The move should only affect a small number of students since the university made the decision in May to go to a flexible, all-online instruction format that allowed some in-person learning. The format also allows the university to provide more in-person instruction if health conditions improve surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We made this decision after consulting with our own faculty public health experts as well as local health officials,” interim President Dr. David May said. “By limiting in-person interactions, we will mitigate the possible transmission of infection and allow us the best possible start-up environment for faculty and students in winter and spring quarter.”

Classes resume after Thanksgiving on Nov. 30. Any course or lab approved for in-person instruction will not meet in person after the holiday but will instead move to the online format – including for finals.

Students have given the option to live on campus or off while taking courses this coming year. Residence hall accommodations have been limited to one student per room.

John McCallum can be reached at jmac@cheneyfreepress.com.