Nicholls moves classes online to Virtual Campus through Wednesday

From Nicholls State University Jerad David, Director of University Communications: 

Due to the threat of inclement weather from Tropical Storm Sally, we are moving classes online through Wednesday and directing all faculty and staff to plan to leave campus no later than 1 p.m. tomorrow and begin teleworking.

All classes are scheduled to continue virtually from Monday through Wednesday. The university recognizes that electrical outages and evacuations could impact virtual learning.

Faculty are encouraged to retrieve any equipment necessary for remote delivery today or tomorrow morning. Staff will secure campus during the morning hours before campus buildings are closed at 1 p.m. and employees shift to a virtual work schedule through Tuesday. Staff should remain on standby for instructions on returning to campus on Wednesday.

Services including the library, recreation center, Fall Camp and Little Colonels Academy will remain open until 1 p.m. Monday. The Grad Expo scheduled for Tuesday has been postponed.

Tropical Storm Sally is expected to make landfall Tuesday morning as a Category 1 or 2 hurricane and is forecasted to bring heavy rains, winds and storm surge to the Louisiana Coast.

Residence halls will remain open and students are reminded to continue to focus on school work as classes remain in session in the virtual platform. Residents whose families feel it is safer to stay home as well as commuters should continue to be vigilant in all COVID related safety practices.

All Nicholls classes and services will operate under the guidelines of Nicholls Virtual Campus. The virtual campus was developed by Nicholls faculty and staff during Spring and Summer 2019 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nicholls Online will continue to operate as normal.

Administration initiated the alert in accordance with the university’s Hurricane Emergency Plan, posted at nicholls.edu/hurricane. A Phase III alert is issued when storms in the Gulf of Mexico are projected to make landfall around South Louisiana and the NWS places south Louisiana under a Hurricane warning. The University Emergency Preparedness Committee will now track path, speed and projected storm surge of the storms and initiate any further changes.

All Nicholls departments will refer to the Hurricane Emergency Plan and begin enacting internal Phase III storm preparations at this time. The community will be notified if Phase IV storm preparations are implemented.

Please remain weather aware and exercise caution when traveling from campus and throughout the weekend. Please continue to follow www.nicholls.edu/hurricane and Nicholls social media for updates.