Schools

Amherst College Shutting Down For Spring Semester

The college is moving completely online after spring break amid coronavirus fears.

AMHERST, MA — Amherst College is shutting down its campus and moving all courses online for the duration of the spring semester, the boldest move by a college amid fears of the coronavirus outbreak.

Amherst said Monday night it will switch to online education after spring break, which ends March 22. Classes will be cancelled March 12-13 this week, kick off spring break early.

Students will not be allowed to stay on campus after March 15 unless they get permission. Faculty and staff will remain on campus.

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"We know that many people will travel widely during spring break, no matter how hard we try to discourage it," the school said in a statement. "The risk of having hundreds of people return from their travels to the campus is too great. The best time to act in ways that slow the spread of the virus is now. Let me make our decisions clear and then provide additional information:"

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