Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced the distance-learning initiative Wednesday at a news conference about steps the state is taking to contain the virus. The disease it causes, COVID-19, was declared a pandemic that day by the World Health Organization.

Some of the region’s colleges are acting on this more aggressively than others. North Country Community College and SUNY Canton are waiting for more guidance from the state before making changes, while others, such as SUNY Plattsburgh, are shifting all classes to distance learning for the rest of the spring term.

There are about 80 schools in the SUNY and CUNY systems, and they educate hundreds of thousands of students.

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North Country Community College

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NCCC President Joe Keegan said it’s not clear yet how the school will approach the coronavirus and Cuomo’s initiative. For now, classes will continue as normal, he said.

“While we could expect that you would like a definitive answer as to whether we will do the same, we were appreciative of the Governor’s address and his point about how conditions would vary by campus,” Keegan said in a press release Wednesday. “At this point, we are working with our campus and SUNY partners on what are the next best steps that we can take for the college. We expect that we will have more details for you over the next day on this as it relates to delivering instruction.”

NCCC’s main campus is in Saranac Lake, and it also has campuses in Malone and Ticonderoga.

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Paul Smith’s College

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Paul Smith’s College put a coronavirus update on its website home page Wednesday night, announcing that it is extending its spring break one week — until Monday, March 23 — and that President Cathy Dove authorized a Coronavirus Task Force to authorize all policy decisions and official communications.

Chief Marketing Officer Shannon Oborne said she does not anticipate this will mean an extra week of classes at the end of the semester.

“College leadership is currently evaluating the possibility of shifting all classes to an online virtual format,” the website says. “A determination will be communicated no later than Wednesday, March 18.”

The website says students currently living on campus may remain, and that students who wish to return to campus before classes resume March 23 must obtain approval from Lou Kaminski, director of housing and residence life.

Faculty and staff are required to report to work as scheduled.

The college website says that as of Wednesday, no student or community member has been confirmed to have contracted COVID-19.

Several policies have been put in place through April 1.

All planned travel greater than 35 miles from campus requires the approval of a vice president. All scheduled speakers and outside groups must be postponed, canceled or shifted to an online format. Academic and co-curricular activities are limited to groups of 100 or fewer. Members of the general public are still permitted to access campus facilities and spaces such as the library, fitness center and Visitor Interpretive Center. Self-service food handling is prohibited in the dining hall.

The Career Fair on March 26, Open House on March 28, Accepted Students Day on April 17, Sugar Bush Breakast and SAM Fest on April 18, and Commencement on May 9 are all currently planned to proceed as scheduled.

In January, the college’s Emergency Management Planning Group updated the college’s pandemic response plan to address the emerging threat.

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SUNY Plattsburgh

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“Classes will move to distance learning for the rest of the semester after spring break,” SUNY Plattsburgh President Alexander Enyedi said Wednesday in an email to students.

He tells them to “plan accordingly” and take “any information or books needed for classes.”

Dormitories will remain open.

“We understand leaving campus for break or the semester would be a hardship to some students,” he said, “While there will be no on-campus classes for students to attend, Campus Housing and Community Living will remain open and students are allowed to stay on campus for the semester.”

With plenty of courses being offered on campus, many professors have not used the online format before. The campus is offering a full-day course for professors on how to work their Moodle site, an online forum mediated by professors for student information, discussion and test-taking. The campus will also teach shorter courses for professors who need a refresher or want to learn something new about the online format.

“I appreciate the ongoing work of faculty and staff to make this possible through quick-start Moodle sessions, added Zoom licenses and more.” Enyedi Said. Zoom is an online format for video and web conferencing.

It’s a harder transition for some professors than others.

English Associate Professor Elaine Ostry said teaching online is something she has never wanted to do, but she “understands it has to be done.”

She plans to use Zoom to teach her classes via webcam. Zoom would allow her to speak with her students, and the students can not only talk back to her but to their fellow classmates as well.

The college intends to keep emailing students and faculty with new information. It has currently implemented a COVID-19 information page at Plattsburgh.edu.

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SUNY Potsdam

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SUNY Potsdam students received an emergency email Wednesday stating the campus is extending its spring break, currently underway, by an extra week. It will resume classes on March 23, “with coursework moving to a fully distance learning format via online and remote instruction through the end of the semester.”

School officials hope the extended break will give them more time to prepare and move coursework online. Regardless of the extra time off, these changes will not affect the length of their semester.

“At this time, no student should make plans to return to campus,” the email said.

However, the teaching faculty are still expected to return back to campus on March 16 for meetings. Staff is expected to continue to report to work as well.

For more information, visit potsdam.edu/covid19.

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SUNY Canton

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In an email from SUNY Canton President Zvi Szafran, the college announced it will be extending its spring break by one week — with no classes from March 16 to 20 — and when classes resume March 23 the college will shift to teaching remotely.

Szafran said the switch to online courses won’t be hard for the campus. SUNY Canton already has 30% of its students online.

The campus will remain open during this time and College faculty and staff are expected to work as normal. The email says the college is seeking clarity from SUNY on questions about laboratory courses and clinicals.

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St. Lawrence University

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St. Lawrence University in Canton announced it will temporarily move to remote learning after spring break, beginning Monday, March 23, with on-campus classes planned to resume Monday, April 13.

All students are expected to leave campus by Saturday, March 14 at 5 p.m. Only students approved by the Office of Residence Life to remain on campus over spring break will be allowed to stay on campus for the remote learning portion of the semester.

A notice on the university’s website said it will reassess the situation by Monday, April 6.

All university-sponsored spring break travel — including international, domestic and athletics trips — have been canceled, and both on- and off-campus athletic competitions are suspended until April 13.

The campus will remain open and fully operational, and all faculty and staff are being told to continue their regular work schedules. Some employees will work remotely, and ill employees are told to stay home.

“We will work out issues with sick leave banks after the situation resolves to normal,” the website says. “We will not require doctor’s notices for flu symptoms as it is encouraged to use telemedicine or personal calls to doctor’s offices rather than in-person appointments. Employees with sick time banks will use their sick time to cover absences from work and may use other benefit time if sick time is exhausted.”

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Clarkson University

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Clarkson University in Potsdam is planning to have students back on campus when they return from spring break March 23, but it is preparing for possible alternatives.

A message sent to students Wednesday says, “we want you back healthy and ready to go on March 23 to continue making progress towards your degrees. We currently plan for your education to be in person.”

However, the message also asks students to bring electronics and textbooks home on break so they can take online courses, if needed. It also says some lab classes may be accelerated.

Other possibilities include canceling, postponing or conducting virtually planned events, curtailing community activities and evaluating travel on a case-by-case basis. Guidance for athletic events and competitions will be forthcoming, based on policy coordination with the Eastern College Athletic Conference and Liberty League.

The message says that students who travel to an area where there is a known outbreak must wait to return to campus until after 14 days and be symptom-free.

Some students from New Rochelle and elsewhere in Westchester County may be required to remain on campus during spring break, as those areas are under containment. The message says students can contact the university to make arrangements to stay in Potsdam, and that meals will be available for all students who stay on campus.