No more Spring Semester. That’s that.

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March 17, 2020
 
Members of our Campus Community:
 
Under my Delegation of Authority as granted to me by the Board of Regents, and in consultation with Board Chair Dan Kemp, following are items to provide you with new information regarding additional steps that our University is taking to mitigate the spread of the Coronavirus, COVID-19.  This is an unprecedented international public health issue which is changing daily.
 
These decisions, which are very difficult to make for our University, are done with great thought and consideration with review of state and national directives, as well as guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), Governor Andy Beshear and other agencies and health professionals.
 
The health, safety and well-being of our faculty, staff, students and the broader community are of utmost importance and we are taking aggressive action, as recommended, to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.
 
Online/Alternative Instruction
 
Online/alternative instruction, effective Monday, March 23, 2020, will continue through the end of the Spring Semester.  Our faculty will guide this process (previously, we announced an end of online/alternative instruction on Sunday, April 5, 2020).
 
Regarding online/alternative technical assistance, please contact the Service Desk at msu.servicedesk@murraystate.edu or by calling (270) 809-2346 or by submitting your request at https://murraystate.teamdynamix.com/.  It is important to stay in touch with your faculty members regarding your classes and delivery methods.
 
Residence Halls
 
Effective Sunday, March 22, 2020, at 2 p.m. (CT), our residence halls will not be reopening following the Spring Break and will remain closed for the remainder of the semester.  Students need to begin making preparations now to move out of their residence halls.  Move out instructions and schedules will be distributed via email no later than 4 p.m. on Wednesday, March 18, 2020, from the Housing Office.  All personal items will be expected to be out of the residence halls by Friday, March 27, 2020, at 8 p.m. (CT).
 
Importantly, we understand that some students cannot leave campus at this time and must continue to reside in the residence halls.  However, we are able to make very few exceptions in this area.  Students who cannot leave campus will receive instructions from the Housing Office by Wednesday, March 18, 2020, at 4 p.m.  Due to this public health crisis, we will not enforce all provisions of our housing contract and more information will be forthcoming regarding pro-rata refunds for housing and dining, subject to all financial aid guidelines, to be applied to existing or future outstanding balances.  Additional information will be provided in the next few days regarding this information.
Campus and Student Events
 
Based on previous notifications and consistent with state and federal guidance, all campus and student events and activities are postponed or cancelled through Friday, May 15, 2020.
 
Commencement
 
Our Saturday, May 9, 2020, Commencement ceremony is postponed as we review other options and a future date for this event.
 
Campus Operations – Working Remotely
 
Limited campus services, including dining, will remain operational.  All campus buildings, including those on the regional campuses, will be closed to the general public.  Please see our website at https://www.murraystate.edu/healthupdate/ for additional information and continue to monitor the site for regular updates.
 
We are encouraging as many faculty and staff as possible to work remotely, while continuing our commitment to remain open and operational.  We will maintain basic operations in every area of the University.  Each Vice President, Director, other administrators and my office, have been reviewing remote-work options since last week.  If you have questions, please direct them to Human Resources at (270) 809-2146.
 
Finally, we are responding to an unprecedented international health issue.  Please bear with us and be patient as we make these decisions.  Again, many thanks to everyone for their hard work, responsiveness, patience, support and guidance as we make these changes in this extraordinary environment.
 
Sincerely,
 
Dr. Bob Jackson
President