@taverngirl the returning Wake students Won’t be back on campus until March 15. spring break is March 7-15. I assume they get an extra week on spring break, at home or wherever, just not on campus since they won’t have housing until 3/15.
Penn State has cancelled it’s study abroad programs in Italy and a few other places; this is particularly bad for architecture students who are required to study there for a semester as part of their degree. UConn has also cancelled many study abroad programs, so have most domestic schools who operate summer programs in China.
Another problem for SE Asia students isn’t just the cancelled testing, it’s the inability to get official transcripts since their schools are closed.
Penn State’s spring break for 40k + students begins next week. Students have been reminded to not return to campus if they are ill.
Yesterday Columbia announced, “For students, all upcoming travel outside the United States organized, led, or financed by Columbia is suspended until further notice.” My son got an additional email specifying that this included summer plans abroad: “We urge you to start to make alternative plans NOW.” It includes not just the level 3 countries, but ANYWHERE outside the U.S.
Meanwhile, I have another son abroad for the year at a college that’s on strike. No classes, limited travel due to coronavirus, and no repatriation to his U.S. college. Poor guy is basically stuck in place with nothing much to do (and not an ounce of hand sanitizer anywhere to be found).
Has anyone had any Accepted Student day visits cancelled? My son has a couple planned in the next few weeks and I’m hoping they don’t get cancelled.
I am worried about flight travel to the events, and one school I contacted is going to reimburse our gas if we choose to drive (5 hr drive) instead of him flying there.
I think everything is fluid and at this point. We received this commincation from WFU yesterday:
Dear Wake Forest community,
As the world continues to learn about and adapt to concerns regarding COVID-19, Wake Forest is actively taking steps to help ensure the health and safety of our community.
Wake Forest is following the guidance of the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NCDHHS). We continue to learn and benefit from the information and expertise of infectious disease experts at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and the Forsyth County Health Department Communicable Diseases Division, as well as our travel risk assessment partner. On campus, our crisis response team is coordinating plans to address scenarios that could impact the health and safety of faculty, staff and students and campus operations.
Last week, we made the decision to suspend our study abroad program in Venice, Italy. We are grateful the students are all healthy and regret that their experience abroad was cut short. We welcome them back to campus for the remainder of the semester. Even though the students will have exceeded the 14-day incubation period prior to their return, Student Health Service will take the extra precaution of screening these students before they move into the residence halls.
We are also carefully considering our other study abroad programs in accordance with the latest updates from the CDC. We benefit from an extensive network of professional organizations and relationships with peer institutions and are exchanging information and best practices to stay ahead of this health concern. We will continue to review each Wake Forest program and location on an individual basis – monitoring travel advisories for individual countries from the CDC and U.S. State Department, and seeking guidance from local and state health officials. At this time, we do not plan to close other study abroad programs, but the situation is changing rapidly, and we will not hesitate to take additional action if needed.
We are aware that a single case of COVID-19 has been identified in North Carolina, and CDC confirmation is pending. There have not been any confirmed cases in Winston-Salem, Forsyth County or surrounding areas.
On Friday, many of our community members will disperse for spring break, and some may visit locations with reported cases. Wake Forest strongly recommends not traveling to locations identified by the CDC and State Department as posing a heightened risk. Whether you are here or away from campus, I encourage you to remain aware and vigilant.
We will continue to update the Wake Forest COVID-19 website with available information. This site links to excellent sources of information, including the CDC. Messages updating the Wake Forest community are also archived on this site.
University custodial staff are paying special attention to cleaning door knobs, handrails and other high-touch surfaces, consistent with seasonal flu prevention. Additionally, the CDC recommends the following preventative actions to reduce the risk of developing COVID-19, influenza and other respiratory illnesses:
Wash your hands often with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds.
If soap and water are not readily available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol.
Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands.
Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Stay home when you are sick.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe.
I understand that the uncertainty and the rapidly evolving situation may create a heightened level of stress. Please take advantage of the many resources available to faculty, staff and students to manage stress, anxiety and emotional wellbeing. For faculty and staff, additional information is forthcoming from Human Resources and the Office of the Provost. I encourage you to stay informed, take preventative action and be supportive of one another in the coming days.
Sincerely,
Nathan O. Hatch
President
My D at RPI was just notified that her team trip to CA has been cancelled. I am expecting my S college to follow suit.
Can we comment about high schools also on this thread?
Our local high schools have cancelled all international spring break trips for this year.
I’ve gotten emails from both of my kids’ college campuses that say mostly the same things as other colleges have put out. My son’s college has a campus in Florence; they closed the campus and are asked those students to go home and self-quarantine for two weeks. As of now, they are planning to have them finish the semester via online courses b/c they do not have available housing for them to return to campus. They are not allowed on campus during their self-quarantine period. Additionally, they have imposed a “no guest” policy on campus as of yesterday. Students are not allowed to have non-students visit/stay in their dorm rooms. This is a rule they impose during mid-terms, study weeks and finals. Midterms start next week so they moved up the “no guest” rule which normally would have started on Friday. Spring break starts a week from Friday.
My younger son goes to a private high school with school issued iPads. Earlier this week they apparently downloaded an app to allow for online teaching, according to my son; if I understand correctly, some sort of idea that the teachers will teach via videoconferencing if it becomes necessary to close school. My daughter goes to a different private h.s. that has not communicated any concerns. All kids are required to have laptops so I’m guessing they would do something similar if warranted.
We had a meeting Monday at our high school to tell students about Rotary student exchange programs. The district representative said that they had decided to proceed as normal with exchange matches and preparations, but would not not spend any money for plane tickets, insurance, etc. until much closer to the trip dates. This gives them about 60 days to make a final decision and figure out what to do if circumstances change. There was a decent crowd, and most of the kids expressed interest in going to Europe.
The representative also said that the Rotary district had high school students on long term exchanges in northern Italy and South Korea, and were trying to determine what to do. Rotary facilitates the exchanges, and he wasn’t sure that they could or should force the students to return. The students don’t want to leave.
We are very happy that DD did her university study abroad last semester. She was based in London, but travelled to Milan and Venice. DS was planning a trip to the Milan area after high school graduation in May to visit his Rotary STEP family, but that is obviously on hold now. The original outbreak was 30 miles from the village where he lived, and the atmosphere there is quite tense according to his exchange family.
My DD’s college is about to close for Spring Break. An email was sent to students (not parents) that they should take any important coursework with them in case they need to teach remotely.
Certainly no plans to close the campus, but smart to prepare for the worst.
Purdue has also cancelled all study abroad programs. No idea if/how much of the $$ spent on what was a trip to Japan, then turned into a trip to Peru, will be returned. Maybe the school fees - United is less likely.
DD is at Rice… they just announced a university employee tested positive for coronavirus.
Dear Rice parents and families-
The message below was just sent to the Rice community. It contains an update regarding coronavirus, specifically regarding the status of the Rice employee who was exposed to coronavirus while traveling overseas last month.
I understand the importance of open communication, so I wanted to forward this news to you quickly. The safety of our students remains our top priority, and as detailed in the statement below, our Crisis Management Team will be working closely with Harris County Public Health in the days ahead to maintain the health and safety of the entire Rice community.
As a parent, I want you to know that I understand the concerns you must have about the wellbeing of your student. As soon as we learned of this situation on Saturday, Rice University immediately took steps in an abundance of caution and will continue to do so going forward. I will be working collaboratively with offices across campus and our student leadership on this situation, and will continue to communicate updates to you as we have them.
To the Rice community:
Harris County Public Health notified Rice officials this afternoon that the university employee who was self-quarantined tested positive for the novel coronavirus COVID-19. The other Rice doctoral students, faculty and staff who are currently in self-quarantine have been notified. They remain in self-quarantine and none has reported symptoms to date.
The affected employee was exposed to the coronavirus while on overseas travel in February to a country not on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s restricted travel list. The employee’s contact with the Rice campus was limited and occurred Feb. 24-25. Rice public safety officers learned of the case Feb. 29 and took immediate action to ensure the safety and well-being of those involved and the broader Rice community, including undergraduate and graduate students, faculty and staff.
The affected employee’s presence on campus was limited to one building, which has been extensively and continuously sanitized along with the rest of the campus. Based on our investigation, the staff member had no direct contact with our undergraduate population and has not been in any residential colleges or classrooms since returning to Houston Feb. 20.
The Rice Crisis Management Team continues to take measures to protect everyone’s health and safety. We are working closely with Harris County Public Health and the Houston Health Department to manage the situation.
At this time, we are not planning to suspend campus operations or classes. Going forward, we will continue to follow the guidance of the CDC and Harris County Public Health.
University staff are maintaining an intensified cleaning program, and the university recommends that individuals practice proper handwashing as suggested by the World Health Organization (using soap and water for at least 20 seconds) and general hygiene, cover coughs and stay home if sick. More information is available at https://emergency.rice.edu/coronavirus.
Students, please call Student Health Services if you are sick. The phone number is 713-348-4966. Student Health Services is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. If the office is closed, you can find a list of nearby urgent care centers at https://health.rice.edu/after-hours-care.
Rice EMS is always available for on-campus emergencies, 24 hours a day. The phone number is 713-348-6000.
We appreciate your understanding and cooperation during this uncertain time. We are a strong community that is driven by our support and care for each other.
The Crisis Management Advisory Committee will update the campus community tomorrow. See emergency.rice.edu for all updates and related information.
I’m wondering about the same thing.
We are flying in 2 weeks for one and I just bought tickets yesterday. Ticket prices had actually dropped a lot. I’m not worried about flying or going to the event but I just hope they don’t cancel it. My D has at least one other school she wants to visit and she is so confused right now that I’m not sure how she will decide if these events are cancelled. I saw on a boarding school thread that most of their admired student events are already cancelled.
Just curious, how did you get the school to offer to pay for gas??
@MAmom111 Grinnell paid for our “gas” to get to admitted student days last year. You just tell them how many miles you drove in your own car and they cut us a check “per mile” just like a company would do if you’re paid for mileage.
I really hope schools don’t cancel any tours. We’re planning to see schools on spring break and I really feel like D needs to get to them with kids on campus since we are considering ED. I don’t want her doing that without seeing school in session. Fall is not a good time to visit as she’s super busy with ECs in the fall and also because I want her writing supplemental essays over the summer.
@MAmom111
First off, we are in the Seattle area and the hysteria over the coronavirus has been real. He got offered an invitation to a special scholarship night that they are hosting before the Admitted Student day, so they offered airfare to attend the event. I spoke with the coordinator and asked if they’d be able to apply the funds for the flight to help in another way. Since we are about a five hour drive to the college and we were thinking of taking a road trip so that we could all visit, they said that if we felt safer driving they would reimburse for gas for our visit. The event isn’t until April so I’m really hoping that they don’t cancel the event.
He also has another fly-out in 2 weeks, and we haven’t heard anything from the school regarding that program. I REALLY hope they don’t cancel that as well.
From the University of Washington:
Update – 03/06/2020: As a way to increase precautionary health measures, such as social distancing, and ensure the successful conclusion of the quarter for UW students on all of our campuses, as of March 9, 2020, classes and finals will not be held in person for the remainder of winter quarter, which ends March 20. Our campuses will remain open to serve all those who rely on our services, including hospitals and clinics, dining services, residence halls, and recreation and athletics facilities. Husky athletics events will proceed as scheduled. We plan to resume normal class operations when spring quarter begins March 30, pending public health guidance.
A friend is at an admitted student event at Elon today - business as usual, but they asked that nobody shake hands!
Amherst College just announced no spectators are allowed at tonight’s NCAA women’s basketball game.
Penn cancelled its admitted student days (Quaker Days).
From UCLA:
Today we learned that three UCLA students are being tested for COVID-19 by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LACDPH). The students are self-isolating off campus.
WFU is delaying Fall housing selection due to uncertainty about Fall study abroad numbers:
We hope this message finds you well! We’re writing today with some updates to Residence Life and Housing processes related to the ongoing situation around COVID-19.
As previously noted, one of the challenges associated with the coronavirus situation is that things are changing very rapidly. As such, the University continues to monitor the situation and follow the recommendations in place from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the U.S. Department of State. University health officials, Campus Life leaders, Global Programs and Studies officials, and others are meeting regularly to discuss coronavirus, review operational plans, and take proactive steps to minimize exposure and risk for our campus community. The latest information from the University can be found on the University’s COVID-19 website at https://coronavirus.wfu.edu/.
The University continues to carefully consider our study abroad programs in accordance with the latest updates from the CDC. One of the potential impacts of the COVID-19 situation could be an increase in the number of students remaining on the Reynolda Campus during the Fall 2020 semester, either by choice or out of necessity.
In order to allow additional time for planning, Residence Life and Housing will postpone 2020-2021 Housing Selection until the University can navigate to more certainty with regards to our study abroad programs. We recognize that this may cause anxiety, and we hope you understand this decision was not made without careful consideration. Your housing selection position will remain intact, although we will assign you a different date and time when those are finalized. Additionally, we will still plan for students with medical accommodations for those living in fraternity/sorority housing and Residential Engagement Communities.
We continue to monitor this situation closely and will communicate with you as the semester progresses so that you may plan accordingly. In the interim, please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions or concerns.
As President Hatch reminded us all, “the uncertainty and the rapidly evolving situation may create a heightened level of stress. Please take advantage of the many resources available to faculty, staff and students to manage stress, anxiety and emotional wellbeing.”
Feel free to contact our office at housing@wfu.edu or 336-758-5185 if you have any questions.