In a letter to students, Louisiana Tech University President Les Guice announced the transition of classes to "all online or other alternative method of course delivery" beginning Monday, March 16.
University operations will continue and the campus remains open. Housing, dining and other services will continue to be provided. We understand not every course is perfectly suited to be delivered online. Louisiana Tech is offering faculty members training on the use of Moodle, Zoom, and other learning management tools. We will also have a limited number of webcams available for check out in the library for student use.
The missive stresses that housing and dining services will not be affected.
The move to the online or alternate delivery of classes does not currently impact housing, dining or other services. In addition to this move, ALL events expected to draw 50 participants or more are cancelled or postponed until further notice. Continue to practice social distancing and other preventive measures moving forward, especially in places like the library, computer labs and recreational facilities. Student workers will be allowed to continue working their jobs on campus. If you are unable to continue working, please notify your supervisor as soon as possible.
In a second post for Faculty and Staff, Guice notes:
Regular university operations will continue as scheduled. At this time, the move to an all-online method of academic course delivery does not directly impact staff members other than those who will be assisting students and faculty adjust to the all-online method of course delivery. Our employees are essential to ensuring the University is able to maintain operations in a safe and responsible manner. We will continue to monitor conditions and make decisions about alternative work arrangements for our faculty and staff as needed. Please reach out to your supervisor if you have concerns about your health or fall in a high-risk category. Continue to practice social distancing and other preventive measures moving forward. The things that we do to minimize the spread of COVID-19 will minimize impacts throughout our campus and our community and flatten the infection curve. We should also all work to minimize unnecessary gatherings of groups of people on campus for the remainder of the quarter. This move will create many challenges for us all. Consider having meetings with large numbers of people through Zoom or by conference call. The move to the online or alternate delivery of classes does not currently impact housing, dining or other services. In addition to this move, ALL events expected to draw 50 participants or more are cancelled or postponed until further notice.
