FORT SMITH, Ark. — The University of Arkansas Fort Smith (UAFS) has extended its spring break by one week due to coronavirus concerns.
There will be no on-campus classes starting at 5 p.m. March 13, through Sunday, March 29.
Students who are enrolled in practicums, clinicals, internships, and online courses will no be expected to attend any on-campus classes but will be expected to meet those commitments the week of March 16-20.
The extension is to start practicing social distancing and to enable faculty who teach on campus to prepare for online offerings, in case the coronavirus in Arkansas makes a campus-wide move to remote learning a necessity.
During this extension, the university will use the two weeks to deep clean and disinfect the entire campus.
The university assures this is not a closure. Staff and faculty will continue to report to campus as scheduled, and university operations will still continue. Limited housing, dining, computer labs, and library services will remain in operation.
To avoid the least disruption in academic progress as possible, a decision to move classes online will not be made until Wednesday, March 26. This is in hopes that students are able to return to campus Monday, March 30.