MACON, Ga. — College students across the state are preparing to switch to online instruction, now that the University System of Georgia closed all 26 of its institutions to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
This applies to Fort Valley State, Middle Georgia State, Georgia Tech, The University of Georgia, and Georgia College among many more.
UGA freshman, Anna Hightower, is back at home in Forsyth and so is UGA sophomore, Lucy Lee, who grew up in Macon.
Both girls were on spring break when the school made its initial announcement that they'd be closed for two weeks.
"If one person that came back from spring break had come in contact with the virus, then it could've just spread like wildfire on campus," Lee said.
Days later, they found out they wouldn't be finishing spring semester on campus. That hit UGA senior, Bailey Walker, a little harder.
"I would say the most disappointing part is that we're not going to be able to finish out some of our senior year activities that we've been looking forward to for the past four years," Walker said.
All three say the school has done a good job keeping students informed, and Hightower says her professors are being flexible about the new online instruction that begins soon.
"Our teachers are being really understanding because this is new for them too. So a lot of them have extended deadlines and said we understand that this is crazy and this is different," Hightower said.
Walker says she knows this is the best decision for both students and professors, but it's not the way she thought she'd end her time in Athens.
"It is sad that you're not really going to get to have a good goodbye," Walker said.
The University System of Georgia has not made any mandates regarding upcoming commencements, but on Tuesday, Georgia Southern in Statesboro announced theirs is canceled.
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