More than 20 U.S. colleges have canceled in-person classes due to coronavirus, as of Monday morning. The colleges enroll a total of more than 200,000 students, and include Columbia University, Princeton University, Rice University, Stanford University, Hofstra University and the University of Southern California, plus the University of Washington and a clutch of community colleges in Washington state.
Education technology specialist Bryan Alexander of Georgetown University, has been leading an effort to track coronavirus-related higher education closures. He says he expects to see many more in the coming days and weeks. “Higher education has a very strong herd mentality, so I think once University of [Washington] made a shift to teaching online, I think that really got everyone excited.”
Many of the colleges announced that they were pausing in-person classes after students or staff members tested positive for the virus. Others like Midland University in Nebraska announced only that they were canceling “out of an abundance of caution.”
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