US college campuses empty as virus scare pushes learning online

A man walking past Low Library on the Columbia University campus, on March 9, 2020, in New York. Colleges across the US are shutting down campuses with plans to continue instruction online, leaving some students distressed over where to go and professors puzzling over how to keep up higher education as they know it in the time of coronavirus. Dozens of colleges have canceled in-person classes temporarily or the balance of the semester. — AP

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts: US college seniors began making tearful goodbyes, not knowing if they'd return to see friends on campus. Some were heading to homes without Internet, leaving them to wonder if they could keep up with online classes. And some worried about finding a way to afford a flight on only a few days' notice.

As dozens of universities cancel in-person classes and move instruction online amid fears over the new coronavirus, thousands of students are left scrambling to find their way home while their professors puzzle over how to move weeks of courses to the Internet.