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D'Youville goes digital to help prevent spread of COVID-19

Posted at 5:37 PM, Mar 10, 2020
and last updated 2020-03-10 23:34:42-04

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — D'Youville College is going digital in hopes of preventing the spread of COVID-19 in Western New York.

The Buffalo college announced on Tuesday that it will shift all undergraduate and graduate classroom instruction to digital platforms starting March 18. Campus leaders say they will re-evalutate the situation on March 30.

According to the college, the decision was made in anticipation of, "approximately 66,000 students returning to local campuses from Spring Break in the coming weeks. There are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Western New York but a significant number of students and faculty from the eight colleges and universities located within the city will have traveled to regions with confirmed cases of COVID-19."

“These are extraordinary times. Out of an abundance of caution and in consideration of the World Health Organization’s emphasis on maintaining social distance as a basic preventative measure against COVID-19, we will migrate lectures and classroom-based learning to digital platforms beginning on Wednesday, March 18,” said D’Youville President Lorrie Clemo.

D'Youville's president adds that the campus will remain open and fully operational with laboratory and simulation-based instruction continuing on campus as usual. "At this time, we are continuing laboratory and simulation-based instruction due to their smaller size and learning objectives,” said President Clemo.

D'Youville is now the first Western New York college to announce such a decision in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. It's important to note there are still no confirmed cases of the virus in Western New York.