SUNY Cortland classes moving online as coronavirus cases rise

article

(Via Facebook)

CORTLAND, N.Y. (AP) - Students at an upstate college campus will be switching to remote learning for two weeks because of rising coronavirus cases, officials said Monday.

The State University of New York at Cortland said the shift away from in-person learning at the campus south of Syracuse, New York, would start on Oct. 7.

The state had set a threshold of 100 coronavirus cases as a trigger for a return to remote learning for at least two weeks. SUNY Cortland hit that mark on Monday, officials said.

In a statement, SUNY Cortland President Erik Bitterbaum said the campus would remain open, and students who are living there would continue to do so but would be doing classwork remotely.

"I will not try to sugarcoat it: The next two weeks will be challenging," he said in his statement. "But it's what we need to do in order to continue functioning as a campus."

• College campuses face challenges stopping COVID-19 outbreaks

There are 6,800 students at the school.

Other SUNY campuses have been impacted by coronavirus cases as well. 

SUNY Oneonta closed its campus Sept. 3 and shifted to online classes for the remainder of the fall semester.

In mid-September, SUNY Oswego switched to online classes for two weeks, and was beginning the transition back to in-person classes this week.