Greenville, IL—Friday, March 13 at 1 pm, Greenville University changed course in response to the evolving COVID-19 situation, extending spring break an extra week and moving all courses online for the remainder of the spring 2020 semester.
The decision arose in response to several factors, including a March 13 announcement by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker closing all Illinois schools for the remainder of March; the rapidly-changing nature of the COVID-19 situation; and a diagnosed COVID-19 case in a nearby county.
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Students, families, and the general public can visit greenville.edu/gu-alert for continuing updates on GU’s plans for prevention and preparedness.
During the week of March 16-20, GU professors will work to convert all classes to online format. Classes that were face-to-face on campus will resume online Monday, March 23. Students already registered for online classes will continue their courses without interruption.
GU Executive Vice President Suzanne Davis stated that Friday’s decision was “in the best interest of our students and our community going forward.”
Davis acknowledged that “GU’s culture of community makes this situation tough. The classroom experience, interaction with faculty, and close-knit groups of students are core to the transformative education we as an institution and our students truly value.” However, she said, “our responsibility to students, their families, and our amazing staff and faculty requires that we rise to the occasion and utilize a different approach to learning for the remainder of the semester.”
All events scheduled to occur on GU’s campus through April 5, 2020, have been canceled. The University will monitor the COVID-19 situation and, prior to April 5, make further announcements about future events.
The campus will remain open with employees reporting to work, and the University has increased the frequency of cleaning in public spaces. However, GU has decided to close our campus to all non-employees and students. Student services, food service, the library, and other necessary services will stay in operation, possibly with limited schedules, to serve the dozens of students who did not travel over spring break and remain in University housing. All residence halls remain locked, so students who traveled over spring break must contact communitylife@greenville.edu to collect belongings left on campus.
Greenville University is a four-year accredited Christian liberal arts school with more than 1,200 traditional undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree completion students. Founded in 1892 and affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, the University is located in Greenville, Illinois, 45 miles east of St. Louis, Missouri.
