City’s main universities halt face-to-face classes for rest of academic year

Liverpool John Moores University has followed the University of Liverpool in cancelling all face-to-face classes for the rest of this semester.

The university announced on March 14 it was forbidding face-to-face contact in response to the rapidly escalating coronavirus crisis.

An email said: “From Monday 16 March, face-to-face classes including lectures, laboratory-based classes, seminars and tutorials at the Liverpool and London campuses are cancelled for the remainder of the 2019/20 academic year.”

“We will be making arrangements for you to continue your learning online so that your progress is unaffected by this change. Your School may be in touch about any limited exceptions.”

Today, March 15, LJMU, which has around 24,000 students, followed suit.

A statement shared on Twitter by LJMU vice chancellor Prof Ian Campbell said: “As you know, coronavirus continues to move at pace and like everybody else I am extremely concerned by this situation.

“As a result we have made the decision to stop all face-to-face teaching for the rest of the semester with immediate effect.

“At this time our buildings will remain open and we will continue to operate all of our student services. Details of opening times will be circulated tomorrow.

“Our number one priority is you – we have put in place measures to help you to progress and complete your studies, where possible, through Canvas. Clinical practice studies have had a separate set of communications from the Faculty of Health and they will continue to keep you updated directly.

“I know that you are seeing what other universities are doing – and picking up lots of information from social media – and we are working with our colleagues across the sector but we are also taking action that is right for us at LJMU.

“There is not a one-size fits all response to this crisis. We are taking an approach that is right for us.

“We appreciate that whilst the majority of students are happy to come into university and use the facilities, there are some students who will be concerned about being in the university.

“Our advice is that if you are worried, then you should stay away but keep in touch with your programme team. If the UK is not your home country, you are free to leave and return to your families at any time.

“Your health, welfare and well being are vitally important to us and I hope you all stay safe and well in the days ahead.”

The decision by both the city’s main universties has come ahead of expected government measures next week to ramp up its response to try and slow the spread of the virus by limited social interaction.

These could include action limiting access for schools and further and higher education, as well as public places such as pubs and restaurants, similar to many European cities gripped in the battle to resist the spread of Covid 19.

And there is speculation that the over-70s age group could be recommended to self-isolate for as long as four months.

On Friday The University of Manchester announced it had decided to cancel face-to-face lectures and offer online teaching “as far as possible” from Monday, March 16.

This followed a similar decision by Manchester Metropolitan University on the Thursday.

The University of Salford also announced it was suspending all teaching except for students in their final year.