As the coronavirus spreads around the world, North Texas universities are beginning to cancel study-abroad programs and making plans to bring home students who are overseas.

Southern Methodist University announced Monday that it was suspending all university-related travel, including study-abroad programs. Over the weekend, the school began informing students that it was canceling programs that were scheduled for the summer, including one in London.

“Any member of the SMU community who chooses to disregard university recommendations for international travel must understand they will do so at their own risk and may face difficulties in return travel to the U.S. and/or possible restricted access to the SMU campus,” a statement issued by SMU said.

The university has a study-abroad program underway in Milan, and the school is assessing how it will bring those students home.

Lizzie Loftus, a SMU junior, is among the students in Milan, where students are taking classes online in the meantime.

“I am trying to ride the wave and stay in Milan,” she said. “My parents are concerned because of flight cancellations and suspensions. The main worry is that I wouldn’t be able to return to the United States on my own terms.”

Lizzie Loftus (left), an SMU junior, is among a group of students in a study-abroad program in Milan. With her is Sam Koutnik, a University of Daytona student. (Lizzie Loftus)

Schools across the country have begun canceling study-abroad programs and bringing students home, and the University of Dallas is following suit.

The University of Dallas announced Monday that about 100 students in Rome will return to the U.S. No cases of the virus have been reported in Rome, but more than 2,000 cases have been reported in Italy, many of them in Milan.

“We are confident our students remain safe on our Rome campus due to its remoteness from affected areas,” the school’s president Thomas S. Hibbs said in a written statement. “However, given the fluidness of the situation in Italy, we will begin to repatriate students immediately.”

The decision came after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention upgraded a travel alert for Italy to Level 3, warning Americans not to travel to the country. China, Iran and South Korea are also under Level 3 travel alerts issued by the CDC.

“This past week has been a huge rollercoaster ride, but we’re glad the university has taken this decision,” said Elizabeth Villafranca, whose daughter, Natalie, is among the University of Dallas students in Rome.

Classes at the school’s Rome campus were canceled Monday as school officials began figuring out the logistics of bringing the students back to Dallas.

“This move is intended ... to ensure — beyond any reasonable doubt and with a realistic estimation of risk — your continued good health and welfare in the weeks to come, just in case its spread and impact reach levels that are beyond our control, beyond our ability to take care of you,” Peter Hatlie, dean and director of the Rome campus, wrote to students in an email.

Students who come back to the U.S. will not return to classes at the school’s campus in Irving. They will finish the semester online.

“I was pretty devastated,” Natalie Villafranca said. “Mostly because we have to leave our beautiful campus, our classmates, the faculty, and staff. Over the past eight weeks, all of these people have become like my second family, and it’s really sad not only to have to leave everyone, but also to have to leave this incredible city."

The University of North Texas told students on Tuesday that it was canceling all study-abroad programs to Japan through the end of the summer.

As students come home from overseas, it is unclear whether they will need to be quarantined — either by their schools or government agencies.

The University of Texas at San Antonio recently brought back about 40 students and faculty and staff members from visits to China, South Korea and Japan. None of them showed signs of the virus, but they were self-isolated off campus for 14 days after their return to the U.S.

UT-San Antonio also is recalling about 70 students and faculty and staff members in Italy. All of them were asymptomatic before leaving Italy, but they will be required to be in a 14-day self-isolate as a precaution.

The Texas A&M University System also has suspended school-related travel to China, Italy and South Korea, including its study-abroad programs.

Staff writer Logan McElroy contributed to this report.