Belmont has extended Spring Break by a week and will be making several other significant scheduling changes — all in response to the global coronavirus crisis.



In response to CDC recommendations and the general risks associated with the virus, Belmont has canceled all academic activity through March 22, according to an email sent out Tuesday afternoon by university President Dr. Bob Fisher.



Beginning March 23, all classes will continue in an online-only format until April 6, a period that Fisher said could be extended in the email.



“We believed it was necessary to make these decisions for the safety of our community and to do our part to mitigate the growing impact of COVID-19,” said Fisher in a press release sent out the same day.



To make up for the lost class time, Easter Break has been canceled — but that lost time will also extend to student programming and university-sponsored travel.



All academic trips scheduled until April 3 have been canceled unless approved by senior leaders, and all student programming events, including WELL Core events, through April 3 have been canceled or postponed.



Commencement scheduling is currently unaffected.



Students currently living on campus are permitted to stay, but all students currently off-campus are asked to remain so until the online-only period is over and in-person classes resume. Residential students will be allowed to move back April 3.



In the email sent out to all students, Fisher said the plans were subject to further change and requested the community’s patience.



“We ask that you try to understand how difficult it is to make these decisions,” Fisher said.



Any employee or student who believes they may have been exposed to COVID-19 cannot return to campus and was asked to notify healthinfo@belmont.edu and follow the CDC’s guidelines for self-isolation.



Students with urgent concerns were directed to the university’s COVID-19 response email, and students with non-urgent questions to the Belmont Health Services website’s coronavirus page.