Coronavirus Update for April 10: Spring Commencement, Summer Session and More

Dear Western Students,

I know by now you are probably feeling bombarded with news and updates about our many responses to the coronavirus pandemic. Today, I write to you about plans for the remainder of spring quarter, Spring Commencement and summer. But first, let me emphasize that based on current virus spread trends in our state, we fully expect our main campus and locations statewide to be open and normal operations resumed for the fall 2020 start.

Like you, I am encouraged by recent reports from the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation that have revised downward the estimate of how many people are likely to die and suggesting that Washington may have passed the peak of hospitalizations. This is certainly reassuring news, but we must not let our guard down on Governor Inslee’s Stay Home-Stay Healthy order. As the Governor recently indicated in a video message, the current projections are built on the assumption that we will continue to follow physical distancing and other public health guidelines to stop the spread of COVID-19. To support this directive, we are implementing the following additional safety measures:

Spring Commencement in June will move to a virtual format. Commencement is one of the most joyous occasions of college life, especially for our graduates and their families. I am truly sorry that we will not have an opportunity this spring to celebrate the success of our graduating seniors in person. We will, however, host a virtual Commencement this year. I know that our students and their families were looking forward to this important lifetime milestone, and we share your disappointment. Nothing can truly take the place of crossing the stage in front of your family and friends, but we will do our very best to make the virtual graduation experience meaningful and truly Western. Also, we welcome our winter and spring 2020 graduates back to any of the commencement ceremonies next year. More details will be forthcoming soon.

Fall Advising & Orientation will be offered online only. Just as with Spring Advising & Orientation, new first-year and transfer students entering Western during fall quarter 2020 will be offered academic advising and campus orientation through personalized online advising sessions and virtual events. More updates will be available here: https://nssfo.wwu.edu/fall-advising-orientation.

Summer session will be fully online. Last year, about 65 percent of all summer courses were delivered online, and so the adjustment to fully online this summer will not be as unusual as spring quarter has been. More information on summer session courses and fees will soon be available here: https://oce.wwu.edu/summer-session.

Summer Study Abroad travel is canceled. All study abroad programs starting before August 31, 2020 will be cancelled. At this time, we expect study abroad programs associated with fall quarter to go ahead as planned, as well as a handful of faculty-led programs that happen in the intersession between summer and fall during the first couple weeks of September. This, of course, is contingent on global travel guidance from the U.S. State Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is subject to change. More information on Study Aboard programming and assistance with refunds is available here: https://studyabroad.wwu.edu.

Summer Camps and Conferences are canceled. Western hosts a great variety of summer athletics camps and conferences for guests from around the world. Full refunds will be provided, and further updates on WWU Athletics camps will be posted here: https://wwuvikings.com/sports/2018/5/23/camps.aspx.

More detailed information on all of the above measures will be forthcoming. I know these changes will be disappointing and frustrating for many of you, but it’s the right thing to do in order to put safety and health first, not only for our community, but for the public we serve. I thank you for your grace and understanding as we make our way through this crisis together.

Sabah Randhawa

President

The Incident Command System team at Western has established three goals for all of our preparation and response to COVID-19:  to protect life safety and minimize the spread of the coronavirus illness, to maintain – as much as possible – the continuity of Western’s operations, and to communicate with our communities as fully as possible.

Western's coronavirus information website features Frequently Asked Questions; has links to campus, regional and national resources; an archive of campus messaging and media stories about coronavirus; a new toll-free campus coronavirus information line, and more. The site is a living document, and will get frequent updates as the coronavirus situation evolves.