Student Government Association | Photo by Shaddia Qasem | The Wright State Guardian
After Wright State University sent a campus-wide email to move in-person instruction to online-only, Interim Provost Douglas Leaman spoke at the Student Government Association (SGA) meeting. The Q&A style discussion was to address concerns by students regarding the current state of the university.
MORE: Wright State to move all classes online amid coronavirus fears
University Sponsored Travel
"How will this affect domestic travel that the university has sponsored?” asked SGA Director of Inclusive Excellence Kevin Jones
“All university-sponsored air travel as of right now is on hold… This is not out of line with what other institutions are doing right now. We don’t really have a handle on how widespread this virus is right now so we’re going to start by being overly cautious,” said Leaman.
University Coronavirus Testing
“Can you go over what testing options the university provides for students who may be concerned that they have symptoms of the virus?” asked SGA Vice President Adrian Williams.
“My assumption is that the university is not administrating the test; my suspicion is that if students feel as if they have symptoms that they will be sent to a testing facility. I do know that the number of tests in Ohio is still limited,” said Leaman.
Campus Employment
“How does this affect campus employment for students who may need the paychecks to pay their bills?” asked Residential Senator Jacob O’Connor.
“Student employees should plan to work as usual. We are going to try to keep the paychecks steady. The intention is to keep the employment as is. It’s not your fault that this has come along,” said Leaman.
Academic Advising
“Especially considering the course catalog just coming out yesterday, will advising still be up and running?” asked College of Liberal Arts Senator Jackson Cornwell.
“All services will be up and running. I was corresponding with the advisors letting them know that it is perfectly acceptable to do phone advising. So they’re going to accommodate the fact that maybe some students won’t be on campus as much anymore or maybe don’t want to come to campus as much anymore,” said Leaman.
Technology Accessibility for Online Courses
“For students that have limited digital access, I know you can check out a laptop but do you know if there is going to be enough or if we’re getting more laptops?” asked Director of Academic Affairs Samantha Baxter.
“That was one of my first questions. How much digital technology do we have to provide to students who need access to it? The computer clusters will remain open, the library will remain open, all the on-campus resources will be there. We believe we have enough laptops to fit the need,” said Leaman.
For more information regarding the coronavirus and Wright State University’s plan moving forward, students can visit www.wright.edu/coronavirus.
