Right now it's spring break at many colleges, and in many others it's right around the corner. Students will disperse everywhere and will go partying, someone will catch it somewhere. If coronavirus isn't on campus yet it'll be two weeks after spring break ends. They'll have to shut down the university once the first cluster of cases appears (three weeks after end of Spring Break), and then everyone goes home and spreads it in their hometown.

There is much pressure on administration from faculty now, some of whom have an actual risk of dying, to close down teaching activities. What will also happen is that some faculty members will refuse to teach because of justified fear of catching deadly disease. Best to do an orderly shutdown now than panic a month from now.