CURTIS, Neb. - The Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture in Curtis takes the health and safety of campus community very seriously. As the spread of COVID-19 continues, NCTA administration is taking additional steps to help protect the NCTA community and the broader community.

Starting on March 30, all NCTA classes will shift to remote learning.

In a March 12 letter to faculty, staff and students, NCTA Interim Dean Kelly Bruns, along with Mike Boehm, vice president for Agriculture and Natural Resources at the University of Nebraska, announced classes would be canceled on March 13, as well as for the week of March 16-20, to give students and faculty time to prepare for the shift to remote learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In the letter, Bruns and Boehm said that a limited number of labs and other classes with an experiential learning component would continue to be held in-person on the NCTA campus after students returned from spring break on March 30.

On March 24, Bruns, Boehm and other NCTA leaders finalized the decision to move entirely to remote learning for the remainder of the semester.

“As the situation has evolved, and as leaders from the University of Nebraska system, our state, and our nation, have advised greater precaution to prevent the spread of COVID-19, it became apparent that shifting to 100% remote learning was the right thing to do,” Boehm said. “The health and safety of our students, faculty and staff is our greatest concern and our No. 1 priority.”

Bruns echoed NCTA’s commitment to the safety of both the campus and surrounding community.

“This solution will help keep our students, faculty and staff safe and healthy,” Bruns said.

NCTA faculty and staff are working to ensure that this switch to remote learning does not disadvantage any student. An online Q&A session for students will be held on Friday, March 27, at 11 a.m. Central Time. A link to the web meeting, as well as contact information for questions, will be posted at NCTA.UNL.EDU.

NCTA administration encourages students residing on campus to return to their place of permanent residence. Students who must remain on campus may request special arrangements with the Dean’s Office. It is expected that appropriate social distancing and enhanced preventative public health and hygiene measures be practiced by anyone on the NCTA campus.

Students who leave campus will be eligible for a refund on their housing and meal plans. Students will be sent more details about refunds in the coming days. Those who elect to leave campus and receive a refund must contact Erika Arambula, NCTA Residential Life Manager, to arrange a time to pick personal belongings and sign out of the residence hall.

Further details will be posted at ncta.unl.edu.