After Bowdoin College announced earlier today that it will be closing its campus and moving to online instruction, the University of Maine system has followed suit.

In an email to the University of Maine community, Chancellor Dannel Malloy said when spring break ends on March 23, all campuses in the university system will move to online instruction, "or other pedagogically appropriate distance modalities that do not require in-class presence for the remainder of the Spring semester."

"Graduate, clinical, and similarly-situated students should be transitioned to remote work if possible. Individual universities, colleges, and departments should provide all material assistance and accommodation possible through this transition," he continued.

The chancellor said all students should make plans to vacate campus by March 22.

As part of UMS's public health commitment to reduce exposure and the threat of virus spread, UMS universities will notify on-campus residential students to make plans to depart campus by Sunday, March 22, with personal and educational belongings necessary to complete their semester requirements remotely. Students who have already departed campus will be given opportunities to return to collect necessary belongings at an appropriate time. Residential and meal plan options will be available for those who must remain in or return to their on-campus residence during or from Spring Break due to extenuating personal circumstances, and those students should be advised to prepare for limited on-campus activity and interaction. In order to return to their on-campus residences, students who leave Maine for Spring Break must register their travel plans and will be subject to quarantine or self-isolation measures on their return.

Malloy said the universities will remain open, "with appropriate measures implemented (such as social distancing) to protect community health according to applicable CDC guidelines and recommendations."

Campus-based employees "will continue to report to work unless instructed otherwise or work-from-home accommodations are developed on a case-by-case basis."

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