Piedmont College has decided to close its campus to students and faculty for the rest of the Spring 2020 semester in an effort to stop the spread of COVID-19. Residence halls will be closed to students with non-extenuating circumstances, forcing students to move out over a month before the end of their semester. All Piedmont events have been canceled, as well as study abroad opportunities.
This decision comes three days after the University System of Georgia called for all Georgia higher learning institutions to move to online instruction for the remainder of their semesters. There are currently no cases of the virus at either Demorest or Athens campuses, Piedmont claims to take these measures out of “heightened caution.”
Shortly following the massive amount of American college, university, and school closings in response to COVID-19 on March 13, the Piedmont College COVID-19 taskforce began assessing the measures they should take to protect Piedmont students, staff, and faculty. At that time, there was no projected timeline on how long online instruction would last.
Online classes will begin for Piedmont students Monday, March 23, after a week-long extension of Piedmont’s spring break in order for students and professors to prepare for online classes. A decision has not been made regarding Piedmont’s 2020 graduation.
While students and faculty will continue their courses remotely, the campus will remain open to visitors, staff will continue reporting to work and all other “normal operations” will continue functioning as usual.
