University System of Georgia closing residence halls, will do online classes for rest of semester

ATLANTA — The University System of Georgia is moving to online instruction for the rest of the semester, a spokesperson announced Monday evening.

The USG includes 26 schools, including the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Kennesaw State and others.

“The University System of Georgia (USG) has decided that all 26 institutions will move to online instruction for all courses for the remainder of the semester with extremely limited exceptions. This action comes following last week’s decision to suspend instruction for two weeks to ensure business and instructional continuity, and to allow further state assessment of COVID-19,” USG Vice Chancellor of Communications Aaron Diamant said in a statement.

[CORONAVIRUS IN GEORGIA: What’s happening today]

All schools are also closing residence halls with some exceptions for students who are unable to go home or find housing elsewhere.

“Students are not allowed to return to campus until they receive permission from their institution, which will be forthcoming soon,” Diamant said. “Students will receive specific instructions from campus leaders regarding when they will be allowed to return to campus to retrieve their belongings from residence halls. Students must follow those instructions.”

Each school will contact students with more information about refunds for housing, dining or other services.

“Institutions will remain open, with minimal staff physically on-site, to ensure continuity of certain services,” Diamant said. “In the end, we want to ensure that our faculty, staff and students are safe; that we do our part to help stem the spread of the coronavirus in Georgia; and that we fulfill our mission to graduate our students even in the face of these challenging times.”

LIVE coverage of the coronavirus outbreak and its impacts here in Georgia on Channel 2 Action News.

© 2020 Cox Media Group