South San Antonio News

Texas A&M University-San Antonio issued the following announcement.

Texas A&M University-San Antonio announced today the extension of Spring Break with classes going online for one week beginning Monday, March 23. The university will remain open as normal with all services operating. The decision allows faculty and staff to continue to ready the campus for alternate modes of teaching.

During the past several weeks, the university’s leadership team and a dedicated Risk Management Group have been hard at work to promote a healthy environment at A&M-San Antonio. “While we are not able to know with certainty if or when our campus might be affected by COVID-19, we are taking additional steps to ensure our readiness to maintain the safety of our campus community and the academic progress of our students,” said Dr. Cynthia Teniente-Matson, president of A&M-San Antonio.

While current conditions do not indicate a need for campus closure, the university is preparing for such a possibility. Extending Spring Break week, which originally ended March 16, through March 22, allows faculty and staff to continue to ready the campus and prepare for alternative instruction beginning March 23. The university will continue to evaluate the need for extending online teaching. To mitigate risk, A&M-San Antonio is modifying campus operations, with measures including canceling large gatherings and events for the next few weeks, limiting university-sponsored travel and preparing faculty and staff for remote work. A special university website dedicated to COVID-19 information (tamusa.edu/coronavirus) will offer more details for canceling and postponing events.

The decision to extend Spring Break supports A&M-San Antonio’s commitment to its academic mission to provide the best academic experience possible for students during this time of uncertainty and this dedicated preparation time is key to fulfilling those obligations.

For the media: For the week of Monday, March 16, through Friday, March 20:

• All classes are suspended through March 22 to allow faculty and staff to prepare for remote instruction readiness and operational continuity. Online course instruction begins March 23. The university will evaluate the need to extend beyond March 27 and will continue to update students, as needed.
• Campus will remain open for normal business operations.
• Student support services will continue to operate, including the Library, Dining Hall, Student Wellness and Counseling Center, Parking, Bursar and Business Services.
• Esperanza Hall (residence hall) will resume normal operations Sunday, March 15, for students in the residence halls who need to return to campus.
• In anticipation of growing concern due to the spread of COVID-19, the university is canceling or postponing events. A list of these events can be found at edu/coronavirus/cancelled-events.html.

“Our primary goals remain protecting the health and safety of our university community, and accurately informing our students and employees as best as we can in this dynamic, evolving situation,” said Teniente-Matson. “Preparations include equipping managers and staff with comprehensive information and protocols.” 

Original source can be found here.