Nicholls announced it will be moving all face-to-face courses, aside from labs, to web-based courses on Monday, March 16 for the foreseeable future.

Several university officials released statements to the Nicholls Worth, including university president Jay Clune.

“We take the health and safety of the Nicholls community very seriously. We know that social distancing is one way to help reduce the spread of this virus. By moving our lecture classes to an online environment, we are being socially responsible while still furthering the education of our students. We will continue to monitor the outbreak and make the adjustments that we feel are necessary to keep our people safe and healthy,” Clune said.

Sue Westbrook, provost and vice president of academic affairs, said that university administration will help ensure students maintain academic progress, including those set to graduate at the end of this spring semester.

“With things changing hour by hour, Nicholls administration, faculty, and staff remain committed to keeping Nicholls family and our community safe while continuing to provide a quality education to the students we serve. We will continue to do whatever it takes to ensure student success and progression to graduation during this transition to online course delivery,” Westbrook said.

Emma Bourgeois, Student Government Association president, cited the email sent to students as an example on how SGA will continue to serve students.

“Because Dr. Clune’s email said, ‘The university will remain open and operational during this time period, and faculty and staff members should continue to work normal schedules,’ we plan to still meet as we currently are,” Bourgeois said. “We will be on standby because he also said to, ‘Look for an announcement about campus events soon, as we are considering all the factors involved in either canceling, postponing or conducting them virtually.’ The executive board is still planning on having our office hours and can be contacted through our emails or office phones.”