Johns Hopkins transitions to online instruction amid COVID-19 concerns

In response to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, Johns Hopkins is transitioning to online instruction for both undergraduate and graduate classes across all divisions, university President Ronald J. Daniels announced today. More information about the decision is available online.

The full text of Daniels' message is below.

Dear Johns Hopkins Students, Faculty, and Staff:

I am writing at a critical inflection point in our university's response to the global COVID-19 epidemic.

Our approach to the epidemic has been guided by our commitment to sound public health principles and to informing our decisions with the best possible data that we can secure. It has also been guided by our deep commitment to the welfare of the entire Hopkins' community, particularly those who are most vulnerable to the risks and consequences of this infection.

At this time, we are aware that we have members of our community who are in the process of being tested for COVID-19, including several students who may have had exposure. With this in mind, as well as advice from public health experts regarding community transmission, limited availability of testing, and the need to shift from containment to mitigation strategies, we have decided to adopt the following immediate changes to our policies and academic programming:

• Effective tomorrow, Wednesday March 11, we are cancelling in-person classes for all students as we transition to remote instruction, through at least April 12.
• We will move to remote instruction for all undergraduate classes following Spring Break on Monday, March 23. All graduate and professional students will transition to remote instruction as quickly as possible, with the exception of clinical-based programs, practicums and in-lab training/research.
• Students who reside in university housing are strongly encouraged not to return to campus following spring break. Those students who need to remain on campus should register with student affairs, and services and systems will be in place to support them. Students who receive need-based financial aid should expect to hear from the financial aid office to ensure they do not have economic barriers to leaving campus or remote learning.
• We strongly discourage our colleagues from holding any non-essential university events, meetings, or activities involving 25 or more people. All tours, admissions events, and alumni events (on and off campus) are suspended.
• For faculty, graduate students, and staff, all non-essential university international travel is prohibited, and all non-essential university domestic travel is strongly discouraged. All undergraduate university travel is suspended.

Other than these changes, the university remains open and fully operational. We are not adopting any special workforce policies at this time; our usual telecommuting policies apply.

Linked here you will find additional details regarding these new guidelines. We will keep you regularly informed about any further changes.

As we face the challenges posed by a fluid and rapidly evolving epidemic together, I remain profoundly grateful to each of you–our students, our clinical care providers, our faculty and graduate teaching colleagues, our staff across our campuses–who have and will continue to work tirelessly to adapt to these new circumstances in the furtherance of our core academic mission.

I want to express particular appreciation to the many colleagues who have shared their expertise and insight in public health, engineering systems, infectious disease, and emergency preparedness with us, government officials here and around the world, and the public at large. You are honoring the best of our tradition and giving powerful expression to our core value of knowledge for, and service to, humanity.

Sincerely,

Ronald J. Daniels

President