Classes to be suspended Monday and Tuesday as students move off campus

All undergraduate courses will be suspended on Aug. 24 and Aug. 25, effective Thursday evening. Remote delivery of classes will resume normally on Aug. 26. 

Chancellor Kevin Guskiewicz announced the decision in an emailed message to the campus community as an opportunity to give students time to relocate from campus and redirect their attention as they make necessary transitions this semester. 

"We have successfully transitioned to remote instruction before, and we will do it again," he said in the email. 

Undergraduate students in professional schools are advised to contact their faculty for specific guidance. 

In the email, Guskiewicz said that faculty members will have discretion in choosing how to account for the academic hours that would be lost from the class suspension taking place Monday and Tuesday. 

Those options include: hosting additional class meetings, extending class meeting times or increasing the amount of assignments for the semester. 

The deadline for undergraduate students to drop classes without receiving a "W" mark and have their tuition pro-rated has also been extended from Aug. 21 to Aug. 31, according to the message.

Guskiewicz said this extension will be especially beneficial to new students who may need more time to "understand remote learning expectations and talk with their academic advisors about their course loads if needed."

This announcement comes just a day after remote class instruction began for all UNC undergraduate students.

A petition was created Tuesday by Michael Metcalf demanding UNC Board of Governors to provide reparations to the UNC campus community. 

Among those demands is the request to temporarily suspend class instruction for two weeks to allow for readjustment to new University guidelines and students to move off-campus. 

Supporters also demanded to extend the period that undergraduates could add or drop courses and to allow a Pass/Fail option for the semester, due to "the stressful and unusual circumstances that the student body has been under during these trying times."

At the time of publication, the petition had received over 3,100 signatures. 

The University announced its decision to switch to remote learning on Monday, just a week after in-person instruction began on campus.

Campus Housing, in an emailed message sent Tuesday, requested students to move out of their on-campus housing over the following week. Unless students have a need to stay on campus, the email asked students to cancel their housing contract by Aug. 25. 

In his emailed message, Guskiewicz specifically addressed students and the increased turmoil that many of the changes this semester have caused in their lives. 

"To our students, we recognize that the past two weeks have been a roller coaster for many of you, especially those who came to Chapel Hill only to experience a growing number of COVID cases on our campus," he said. 

Guskiewicz reiterated the on-campus and remote resources available to students — including the CV-19 Student Care Hub, the Student Impact Fund and Counseling and Psychological Services. 

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.