Important Information Regarding Covid-19 and AUP's Response

THIS POST IS A REPUBLISHED VERSION OF AN EMAIL COMMUNICATION SENT BY AUP PRESIDENT CELESTE M. SCHENCK ON MARCH 12, 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.

The global situation changed overnight, as all of you are aware. The World Health Organization categorized Covid-19 as a pandemic, and the US President announced travel restrictions on foreign travelers from the 26 countries, including France, that make up Europe’s Schengen travel area. At 8 pm this evening, President Macron addressed the nation and laid out a series of measures to halt the progress of Covid-19, notably the closing of schools and universities beginning Monday, March 16 and until further notice. This email will update you on the measures AUP will be implementing to comply with this decision, as well as to support our students, families, faculty and staff during this increasingly challenging time.

In light of these changes, I am tonight announcing that every single AUP student will move to remote learning beginning next Wednesday, March 18. The campus will be closed to students beginning Monday morning, March 16. We are working closely with our faculty to put in place remote learning options needed for their course delivery by March 18. Please be reminded that classes will not take place on Monday, March 16, and Tuesday, March 17. In alignment with French directives, this Friday evening the last on-site classes will be taught on campus.

Our priority continues to be the safety of our entire community. We believe it is our civic duty to protect the health and security of our students, staff and faculty, as well as the wider community. Every student and every family may exercise their right to choose whether to remain in Paris or return home during this period.

• Students who choose to return home or go to a relative’s house should complete the remote learning check-in form (only if you haven’t already submitted a remote learning request). If travel arrangements mean you miss a test or a class this week, do not worry: simply let your teachers know directly. After you submit the form, you will be contacted to set up a personalized advising session tomorrow or next week. Please follow our online instructions for “checking out” of housing and subscription agreements. 
• Students who choose to remain in Paris should also fill out the same form (if you haven’t already) for an advising appointment and so we can assign you to a staff mentor who will check in with you and your peers every day to support you. Students who intend to remain in Paris can be reassured that—although only remote learning will be possible after next Wednesday--they can count on the University to support them fulsomely by online means. AUP’s leadership, faculty and staff intend to continue making AUP a haven—albeit a virtual haven--for all students who choose to remain in Paris.

As of Wednesday, March 18, we will go to a remote learning format for all students, and we will also continue to provide services and support to students, staff and faculty by alternate means. Professors will remain reachable by email or through online learning tools such as BlackBoard or Microsoft Teams, and staff will monitor the telephones and email system. As quickly as possible, we will make student tutoring, reference support, tech support and other forms of learning support available online. Meetings will be conducted via videoconferencing software whenever possible.

Count on us to continue our regular announcements, but please first check our FAQs, which you can find here, if you have further questions. Staff, as you can well imagine, are heavily solicited at this moment.

Though these are clearly uncertain times, we are standing firm as a community--with the immense support, understanding and cooperation of our students, families, faculty and staff. I am grateful to all of you for together taking the measure of the situation and working calmly to anticipate, to plan, to organize and to support one another.