A month has passed since the outbreak of the epidemic in Europe and the United States. Recently, there is a growing trend: on Sunday, the United States set the highest single day diagnosis record since the outbreak of the new epidemic, and the United States has also overtaken Spain, becoming the third highest country in the world in the number of confirmed cases. Under the increasingly severe global situation, a number of art colleges and universities actively responded to national measures and upgraded relevant measures. Up to now, almost all British and American colleges and universities have switched to online teaching mode, but there are also some seriously affected colleges and universities that have reported bankruptcy, such as SFAI, which will be mentioned later today. Now, let's take a look at the epidemic policy of American students and the latest announcements of American colleges and universities.
Summary of the latest announcements of American colleges and universities on the epidemic policy of American foreign students:
CalArts
On the official website of CalArts, we can see that the news related to the COVID-19 epidemic has been listed and placed on the homepage of the official website. It can be seen that although the official handling of COVID-19 by the US government is relatively passive, colleges and universities still attach great importance to it.
In addition to the routine comprehensive conversion to online courses, CalArts also very kindly extended the deadline for tuition refund from March 21 to 5:00 p.m. on March 27, so as to give students more time to consider their own learning plans.
However, the school also said that it hoped that the students would think carefully before making a decision, because the final amount of tuition refund would also need to deduct scholarships, financial assistance plans, etc. The meaning of colleges and universities is to euphemistically express that it is unwise to apply for a refund at this time, but we can also see that CalArts is also experiencing a considerable financial crisis.
In terms of language, CalArts has also relaxed the single requirement for IELTS or TOEFL scores, and said that since March this year, in view of the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, it will accept the application of international applicants using Duolingo scores as language scores.
In this way, students who want to apply for CalArts can have more choices. However, Duolingo's test mode is slightly different from the IELTS and TOEFL we are familiar with, so we still need to practice actively and prepare for the test.
ArtCenter Art Center School of Design
On the official website of ArtCenter, we can see that, like CalArts, the language requirements for international students have also been relaxed due to the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, and they accept Duolingo's language scores. Students who are interested in applying for ArtCenter can also consider transferring to Duolingo as an alternative.
Because the IELTS and TOEFL exams have been cancelled one after another, the difficulty of finding test places has not been alleviated. Even if the exams can return to normal in May and June, it is bound to usher in a big explosion after the accumulation of examinees. Instead of trying to squeeze this single bridge, it is better to cooperate with the relevant policies of colleges and universities to change the thinking of taking the exam.
As for the overall policy of the school, ArtCenter has suspended all courses of the school since the 12th. It was not until the 23rd that students were informed to resume their courses, but they were fully switched to online teaching, and all campus activities were cancelled.
Similarly, the internship and other related pre graduation work of fresh graduates in the spring semester have also been transferred to online development. The school understands that students may have more relevant school facilities and space needs on the eve of graduation, and will notify the specific arrangements separately.
SVA New York School of Visual Arts
Like other schools in New York, SVA also updated and announced on March 20 that the school campus would be closed from 5:00 p.m. on March 23, and all the remaining spring courses would be converted from offline to online teaching. Although the school dormitories were not closed, the school authorities still recommended students to go home to live, so as to avoid the risk of infection caused by gathering.
Natural light provided by students
In addition, SVA also released the language requirements for international applicants, saying that Duolingo scores can be accepted as an alternative to IELTS and TOEFL. However, it also said that this was an act of rights and interests under the influence of the epidemic, and it was only used as the examination standard for international applicants in this autumn semester.
It can be seen that not only the students are nervous, but also the colleges are worried about the reduction of international students or the accumulation of applications due to the suspension of the IELTS TOEFL test. If the students' Dream School has no special application policy for epidemic situation, there is no need to panic. Generally, under such a severe international situation, colleges and universities will actively cooperate with students' needs and take appropriate measures to avoid loss of students and economic losses.
RISD Rhode Island School of Design
On March 20, the president of Rhode Island and relevant school leaders held an emergency regular meeting on the COVID-19 epidemic. Although the final policy changes did not change much, special items were also given on the official website of the school to broadcast news about COVID-19 epidemic. And earnestly attached a letter from the headmaster.
In the letter, Lord Somersen, the president of Rhode Island, said that all the teachers and staff of the school were working hard to prepare for the resumption of online classes on the 30th of this month. And apologized to the students for the sudden suspension. Rhode Island is also one of the few schools to officially apologize to students for the suspension. Although it is only a written statement, students will feel much better as students.
The school will answer all the students' questions, including whether the online teaching mode is feasible, how to complete the teaching without borrowing the studio and equipment, and how to refund the tuition fees. And ensure that students will receive due support and help, including in the medical drug level.
Although there are not many policy changes, and online teaching reopens slightly later than most colleges and universities, it is not difficult to see Rhode Island's attention to students and the COVID-19 epidemic in the president's speech.
Pratt College of Art
The Pratt official website also put a speech from the president, encouraging and comforting students, and also said that colleges and universities attach importance to the COVID-19 epidemic. After the tenacious spring break, Pratt also announced the cancellation of offline teaching in Brooklyn and Manhattan campuses after the spring break in the face of the continued spread of the New York City's new coronal epidemic.
This week is the first week after Pratt's spring break. According to the official website, the teachers and staff of Pratt will observe and discuss a new teaching method to replace offline teaching. At present, this new teaching method will also be mainly online teaching.
From next Monday, March 30, Pratt will fully adopt the new teaching method discussed this week to replace offline teaching. What will Pratt discuss? We will continue to track and report the information of epidemic schools next week.
MICA Maryland College of Arts
Before MICA, there was news that the relevant teaching staff had confirmed the COVID-19 virus. The university official also updated the relevant news for students on the official website at the first time. In the latest rolling news, the university official said that the employee's COVID-19 test was negative, and there was no COVID-19 infection case in MICA campus community. However, in view of the confirmed cases in Maryland, MICA prudently took a comprehensive offline suspension measure.
The current undergraduate and graduate students who were originally allowed to study in the studio are also notified to study at home. In addition, the school also opened a special psychological counseling hotline to ease students' tension and anxiety about the epidemic.
SAIC Chicago Academy of Arts
SAIC officials also paid enough attention to the epidemic. After announcing the extension of the spring break to April 3, SAIC also said that it would start online distance teaching on April 6, and the final exam would be postponed to April 20-24.
In addition, SAIC officials have also updated a series of related resources on Canvas to help students complete the transition from offline classes to online classes. On SAIC's official WeChat account in China, it was also said that due to immigration restrictions, the freshmen reception scheduled for last weekend would not be held as scheduled.
SAIC official official account
SFAI San Francisco Art Institute
As mentioned earlier, most colleges and universities are facing a financial crisis to some extent at present, while SFAI has a relatively large impact. As can be seen from the above email, SFAI seems to be facing the risk of bankruptcy.
The university officials strongly recommend that students choose to study in another school with the help of the university, and said that the university is facing serious financial crisis such as layoffs. And is considering suspending all regular courses and degree courses.
On the official website of SFAI, we can only see the news of mandatory evacuation of students, and there is no report on how to carry out the follow-up teaching work. In the official email of the university, the crisis was called the strongest financial crisis since the 150th anniversary of the establishment of the university. The students studying at SFAI may really be the most miserable class of overseas students in history. It is not a spoof, nor a hacker invasion. It is the official email of the university that announced that the university is facing closure.
Today, we summarized the epidemic policy of American students and the latest announcements of American colleges and universities. At present, with the help of the application team and the teaching and research center, the current students who are affected by the relevant policies of natural light have made application adjustment and corresponding learning planning at the first time. In the face of the magic start of the 2020 application season, Natural Light is willing to do its best to help every student break through difficulties and make full use of this time to seize the opportunity!
More recommended articles on epidemic policies for American students abroad:
The impact of the epidemic on studying abroad in the United States, and the latest epidemic countermeasures of American colleges and universities
Do you want to study abroad for art when the epidemic situation breaks out overseas? Look at what these insiders say!
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