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THAT ARE CONFIRMED IN ARKANSAS GROWS AND THE THE SITUATION GROWS ACROSS THE NATION AND REALLY WORLDWIDE WE FELT IT WAS IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE HEALTH AND WELL-BEING OF OUR CAMPUS COMMUNITY AND OUR LARGER COMMUNITY TO SUSPEND IN-PERSON CLASSES EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY AND MOVE TO AN ALL ONLINE FORMAT. IN THE LAST HOUR, WE GOT AN UPDATE FROM THE U OF A ABOUT THE PLAN TO MOVE TO ALL ONLINE CLASSES. WE HAVE 4029’S EMMA CLAYBROOK. SHE IS JOINING US ON CAMPUS, EMMA. SOME STUDENTS TOLD ME THEY WERE DEVASTATED WHEN THEY FOUND OUT THEY WOULDN’T BE ABLE TO FINISH OUT THE SEMESTER HERE ON CAMPUS JUST TO CLARIFY. THIS IS NOT A COMPLETE CLOSURE OF CAMPUS HOUSING DINING AND OTHER SERVICES WILL STILL BE PROVIDED BUT STUDENTS CAN DECIDE WHETHER OR NOT THEY’D LIKE TO RETURN RETURN HOME FOR THE SEMESTER AND TAKE THEIR MINE CLASSES THERE THE U OF A SAYS IT WILL GIVE PROFESSORS THE REST OF THE DAY TODAY AND ALL DAY TOMORROW TO PREPARE THEIR COURSES ONLINE STUDENTS SAY THEY WERE EXPECTING TO GO ALL ONLINE AFTER SPRING BREAK, BUT THEY WERE SHOCKED TO FIND OUT THE NEWS TODAY. THEY TOLD ME THEY FOUND OUT WHILE THEY WERE IN THE MIDDLE OF CLASS AND THEIR PROFESSORS JUST TOLD THEM TO LEAVE HISTORY IN THE MAKING. I MEAN, WE’LL SEE WHERE IT GOES FROM HERE. SO IT’S KIND OF LIKE A FIRST pTIME FOR EVERYTHING. I MEAN, I’VE NEVER HEARD OF THIS HAPPENING WHERE THEY JUST SHUT DOWN EVERY CAMPUS ACROSS THE COUNTRY, SO IT’S GOING TO BE INTERESTING. C IT IS SO SAD TO FEEL LIKE WE’RE MISSING THIS WHOLE HALF OF THE SEMESTER BECAUSE LIKE YEAH, WE’RE STILL GOING TO BE IN SCHOOL AND LEARNING BUT WE DON’T HAVE ANY OF THE SOCIAL SIDE OF IT. WE’RE JUST GOING BE AT HOME. U OF A SAYS IT UNDERSTANDS THE NEXT FEW WEEKS WILL BE FRUSTRATING FOR STUDENTS AND FACULTY BUT THEY SAY HEALTH IS THE NUMBER ONE PRIORITY AND THEY WANT TO MAKE SURE THEY CAN PREVENT THE SPREAD OF THE CORONA VIRUS ANY WAY THEY CAN REPORTING LIVE IN FAYETTEVILLE EMMA CLAYBROOK 40/29 WITH WEATHER, NORTHWEST, ARKANSAS COMMUNITY COLLEGE ALSO ANNOUNCING ALL IN PERSON CLASSES ARE SUSPENDED AND WILL BE MOVED ONLINE THAT WILL TAKE EFFECT ON MONDAY, MARCH

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The University of Arkansas is moving all classes to online-only for the rest of the semester.The announcement was made in an email sent by Chancellor Joe Steinmetz.Housing, dining and other services will continue to be provided, but students can decide whether or not they want to return home for the rest of the semester and take their online classes there.Follow this link to learn about canceled events, latest updates, helpful resources on COVID-19Emily Meade, a freshman at the U of A said she was expecting classes to go online-only after Spring Break, but she was shocked to find out the news Thursday. "It is so sad to feel like we are missing this whole half of the semester because, yeah, we will still be in school and we will still be learning, but we won't have any of the social setting, we will just be at home," Meade said. Another freshman, Gavin Osborne, said he will look back on the decision and think about how he was a part of history. "There's a first time for everything. I've never heard of this happening where they just shut down campus across the country, so it's going to be interesting to watch," Osborne said. The chancellor's email told students to watch for communication from instructors about the logistics of moving classes online.It also asked everyone to have as few unnecessary gatherings of groups of people as possible.U of A spokesperson Mark Rushing said the university knows the next few weeks will be frustrating, but health is the university's number one priority. "All of the questions haven't been answered at this point. There are going to be challenges. There's not going to be a perfect scenario for every case," Rushing said. "We just don't see the situation necessarily getting better in the next few weeks."Rushing said decisions have not been made about plans beyond the end of the spring semester. He said they hope to make that call by mid-April. The chancellor's email came hours after the governor announced five new presumptive positive cases of COVID-19 in Arkansas, including a hospital worker.Arkansas now has a total of six presumptive positive cases. All those cases are in Grant, Jefferson, Pulaski and Saline Counties.