On Mar 11, California State University, East Bay suspended in-class instruction. CSUEB President Leroy Morishita sent out an email to all- students and staff discussing further details of the suspension.
According to the email, there are no reported cases of the COVID-19 affecting any Cal State East Bay campus. In the email, it stated that the reason for the suspension was “ The health of our students, staff, and faculty always guides our decision making. “
The university has been in constant contact with Alameda and Contra Costa Departments of public health as well as the California State Public health. The Department of Public Health recommended not to limit in-person instruction, but have recently announced that other local universities such as University California Berkeley, San Jose State, Santa Clara University and San Francisco University have expressed their concerns about the virus and their suspension of in-person instruction.
“After consulting with the leadership of the Academic Senate and Associated Students, Incorporated, the university is taking the following actions for all three East Bay campuses beginning Wednesday, March 11,” President Morishita explained.
From March 11-March 15:
All in-person lecture, discussion, and seminar courses are to be moved online. To allow preparation time, all of these courses are canceled through the end of this week. Instruction will resume on Monday, March 16 at the regularly scheduled date and time.
While most activity, workshop, lab, and studio courses may not permit alternative modalities and will continue to meet in person, those that can be taught in alternative modalities should move online. Faculty will be advised on how to manage instruction in a safe environment.
Courses currently offered online will continue as scheduled.
All faculty should notify their students of the next class session.
All campus operations including the University Libraries, Housing, Dining Services, and Student Health & Counseling Services will remain open. Advising and tutoring will continue to be provided online, in-person and by phone.
University facilities remain available to students needing to participate in their courses.
At this time, all athletic events will proceed as planned.
Faculty support for these changes can be found at our Online Campus website that provides resources for using online tools and obtaining technical support.

March 16-April 12:
All redesigned in-person courses proceed online at their scheduled day and time.
The campus operations will remain open.
Spring break remains March 30 to April 2.
Wednesday, April 8:
A decision will be made whether to continue with these revised modalities based on the latest COVID-19 information at that time.
During the suspension of in-person classes, all campuses will remain open, and staff and faculty are recommended to remain on campus for the convenience of the student body until further notice.
Over the past few weeks, different departments on campus have had faculty meetings to discuss options in case it was necessary to continue instruction online. Chair of the History Department, Professor Bridget Ford held a meeting with her department.
“We are talking about being ready in the instance there does need to be a closure, how we would continue our instruction” explained Ford hours before the March 10 campus closure was announced.
“Our foremost objective is to make sure students are able to continue on with their course work and get their classes done. We are committed to that,” Ford added.
Since the announcement was made yesterday about the changes to instruction for the next few weeks, students have received emails from their instructors on how their respective classes will proceed for the next few weeks. While some classes are easily transferred to an online platform, some classes are not.
“As a Production Course, it has a different classification, so I am waiting for further information about how that class will proceed.” Ryan White, a communication professor teaching COMM 435 Visual & Multimedia Storytelling, wrote in an email to students.
While faculty adjust to the new changes, it is important for students to stay in contact with their instructors for new information. As the situation develops we at the Pioneer wish everyone safety as we keep you informed. Some students are happy with the idea yet others bring concerns.
“I liked classes being canceled because I’m that much more safe from contracting any sickness or virus,” Alyssa James, a criminal justice major, said.
“The majority of my classes are art classes ( workshop, activity) so unless they move them online, I’ll still have to come to campus and attend class. Lesly Garcia explained. She mentioned that she’s happy that the school made the decision to cancel classes but, “the general population [of students] will have to still attend.” Garcia added.
“Online classes [have me] worried because a lot of students are not proficient at online classes. Personally, I am nervous because I don’t take online classes due to my being a visual and hands-on learner. Learning through a computer screen is something that I can find challenging.” student Lauren Weekly-Wilson said.
“I’m happy they canceled in-person classes because it took the panic off a lot of students and at the end of the day our health should come first.I’m actually surprised they canceled school because when multiple students in dorm life were spreading mono they didn’t even bat an eye,” CSUEB student Nastassija Brown said.
According to CSUEB Housing, to prevent an outbreak from occurring on campus they have released a notice to all students living on campus that No Guests are allowed which took effect immediately. This means No visitations, No overnight Guests, and No Social Gatherings. Housing at the moment remains open until further notice. Housing recently sent out another email explaining residents to fill out a survey that will properly help Housing stay informed on the plan for students.