USC said Friday it would conduct lectures and seminars online rather than in classrooms for three days next week to test the ability to operate remotely should the coronavirus spread and force the campus to suspend in-person contact.
While there are no coronavirus cases at USC, the university said in a statement Friday the test was among “precautionary measures to ensure that we are prepared for any potential disruptions to teaching and learning at USC.”
“Our university must be nimble and flexible in the event that we need to make any further changes to the semester,” said Provost Charles F. Zukoski in a letter to the campus Friday. “We have about 7,000 lecture classes this spring. We need to test our technical capabilities to ensure academic continuity in an online environment should there be a disruption.”
The test will occur March 11-13. During that time, the university will be operating normally with all services and events running as usual.
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