Dear Students and Parents,
The health, well being, and safety of our students, faculty, staff and guests are our highest priority.
Doane University has continuously been monitoring the situation with the Coronavirus (COVID-19), officially declared a pandemic yesterday by the World Health Organization. As the threat of COVID-19 spreading into our communities continues to increase, higher education institutions are facing difficult decisions with how to proceed, given the thousands of students and hundreds of faculty and staff that make up our academic communities.
Alongside our prevention efforts that are already being carried out, it is necessary to take further steps to keep the Doane community safe. The following are steps being taken to protect the health and wellness of our campus community.
Remote Teaching and Learning
Doane University has made the decision to cancel all in-person, face-to-face classes and will transition all classes to online/virtual learning beginning Monday, March 23rd. You will receive additional information from Academic Affairs and your faculty members next week.
For those who do not have access to wifi or laptops at home, the library and computer labs will remain open with social distancing practices and hand sanitizer provided. TigerTech has laptops that can be checked out on a first come, first serve basis. If you are not able to return to campus and don’t have access to a device, please reach out to the Academic Success Center.
Extended Spring Break
Spring break will be extended through Sunday, March 22nd as we make preparations to transition to an online/virtual learning environment. Classes will resume in an online/virtual format on Monday, March 23rd.
Campus Operations
Doane University will remain open and continue to serve our academic community including health and counseling services, dining services and residence halls. In line with guidance from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), we encourage students residing on campus to return to their permanent residences because of advantages for social distancing. Students currently away from campus on spring break are encouraged to stay home--if that is an option for students. The Office of Residential LIfe and Education will provide more details to assist students in coordinating the return of belongings. Doane will continue to support students who choose to remain on campus with additional appropriate measures to encourage social distancing and other preventative public health measures.
Dining services will resume as scheduled on Sunday evening, March 15 for those students currently on campus. The Office of Residential Life and Education will be reaching out tomorrow with additional details and options available for students currently on campus and those who plan to return on March 22nd.
Travel
Effective immediately, all non-essential institutional travel has been suspended through the end of the summer including travel courses, study abroad and other non-essential travel such as conferences. Additional guidance on fall term study abroad will be forthcoming as we continue to evaluate this evolving situation.
Students will be refunded any deposits, fees or other charges related to Doane Travel Courses. Doane will also assist with obtaining refunds and reimbursements for students planning individual study abroad programs through third party providers this summer. Additional details will be provided by the Business Office in the near future.
Decisions on athletic competitions and other co-curricular travel are still pending.
Events and Programs
Effective immediately, large group gatherings are suspended until further notice. This includes all programming events, Greek Life events and student organization events and meetings. The Office of Student Life will be reaching out to student leaders with additional details regarding plans for previously scheduled events and celebrations.
Additional information will be shared on the status of performing arts, athletics and other student events as they unfold. No decisions have been made at this time regarding commencement in May.
Health and Wellness
In an effort to minimize the potential spread of this disease, we have made the decision to close the Student Health Office to walk-in appointments at this time. We ask that instead of coming to the Student Health Office all students needing assistance please contact Nurse Kelly Jirovec by phone (402-826-8265) or email (kelly.jirovec@doane.edu).
The Counseling Center will remain open for students with existing appointments. If you have recently traveled to an area monitored by the CDC as Level 1, 2, or 3 health notices, or are presenting symptoms of illness we ask that you contact your scheduled counselor to reschedule your appointment. For more information on how to connect with a therapist in your home community contact The Counseling Center.
Myron Parsley (myron.parsley@doane.edu - 402.826.6719)
Kristal Flaming (kristal.flaming@doane.edu - 402.826.8551)
This is a rapidly evolving situation and you can expect to receive additional updates by email. Please continue to check your email regularly as we update policies and procedures as the situation warrants to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in support of the health and wellness of our community.
For more information visit Doane’s COVID-19 online repository where we will continue to post updates and additional information as it becomes available.
Sincerely,
Jake Elswick
Vice President of Enrollment and Student Experience