ODESSA, Texas — The University of Texas Permian Basin has announced they will be extending its spring break for a week due to concerns about the coronavirus.
The university recently banned university-related travel to countries deemed level 2 or 3 risk as a precaution.
According to the university's coronavirus action plan, all international travel to and from those countries through May 1, 2020 must be reported to the school.
Now the university has extended its spring break an extra week to help keep students safe and prepare to possibly go to online-only courses.
The break was originally supposed to run March 9 to March 13 and will now last to March 20.
"The plan right now is for the students to come back on the 23rd and then we will be ready to execute an online only pathway at the point it becomes necessary," UT Permian Basin President Dr. Sandra Woodley said.
The extra week will be used for faculty and staff to train and prepare contingency plans in the event it becomes necessary to move classes entirely online.
UTPB housing will remain open for those who need to stay, even if classes are moved online.
Additionally, the Lone Star Conference canceled all sporting events through March 30th -- this includes all UT Permian Basin athletic events.
"We've taken this first step to give ourselves a breather and really assess what's going on, make sure none of our athletes are put in jeopardy. They would be traveling to these venues and i think that's the right decison and we're all comfortable with that," Dr. Woodley said.
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