Daily Update on Campus Safety and Covid-19

THIS POST IS A REPUBLISHED VERSION OF AN EMAIL COMMUNICATION SENT BY AUP PRESIDENT CELESTE M. SCHENCK ON MARCH 5, 2020, ABOUT COVID-19 AND AUP'S RESPONSE. IT IS PART OF OUR SAFETY & SECURITY BLOG THAT ROUNDS UP ALL THE LATEST NEWS AND UPDATES FOR OUR COMMUNITY.

Thank you once again for your comments and questions over the past week. Your support and understanding are invaluable as we navigate this exceptional period.

Entrance Procedures at AUP Buildings

After a series of inaccurate measurements this morning, we have decided to suspend the requirement of temperature-taking at building entrances. The policy was implemented as a preventive measure to keep our campus as healthy as possible by encouraging those with fevers or flu-like symptoms to remain at home. However, it quickly became clear that the measurements provided by the infrared thermometers were not accurate for individuals coming into warm buildings from the cold outside.

We will continue to have staff with infrared thermometers at the entrances of all buildings so that faculty, staff and students who feel unwell can monitor their temperatures as they leave, or after their temperatures have acclimated to the conditions inside of our buildings. We will provide support and information to those who have fevers. 

Visitors to campus who display flu-like symptoms will still be refused entry; thus far, no one has been refused entry on these grounds.

Partner Students

We are in daily contact with all our institutional partners, who are also monitoring the situation as it evolves. Not one of them is currently considering recalling its students. Colleagues at other institutions, all of whom are experienced international educators who have faced challenges such as this before, are instructing their students to remain abroad to complete their program of study.  

Only in those countries and regions where local authorities, the US Department of State or the CDC have declared a serious concern have students been recalled home. Neither Paris nor France currently appear on any such lists. The CDC has not recommended that higher-education institutions recall study abroad students.

Along with every other school and university in France, AUP is constantly re-evaluating its response to the Covid-19 situation, modifying and modulating as appropriate, and so I thank you for your patience and understanding – as well as your comments and feedback – during this challenging time.

As ever, if you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to Dana Callaghan, Parent Relations Manager, at parentsaup.edu.