[20th March 2020] NAFSA 2020 Is Officially Cancelled, UK Orders Schools Closed, Abrupt Shift To Online Classes Brings New Challenges
After careful consideration and out of concern for attendees, the Board of NAFSA Association of International Educators has decided to cancel NAFSA 2020. The association is aware that international education faces exceptional challenges now. It ensures that it will continue to advocate and find ways to convene and support the field virtually.
The UK government has announced that all schools should close today, March 20, and summer exams are cancelled. Teachers need to evaluate GCSE and A-level results based on predicted grades.
In India, the University Grants Commission has requested all higher education institutions to postpone exams and evaluations until March 31, and the admission tests scheduled in April will likely be postponed as well.
Meanwhile, the abrupt transition to online classes in the US is bringing new challenges to schools, including attendance monitoring. However, due to this mass transition to distance learning, companies have begun offering free use of their database for a limited time, including e-textbooks and courseware that students can access at home.
Several organizations continue to update masterposts that instruct students on how to keep safe and continue studying. In particular, students who opt to continue studying abroad are given some dos and don’ts as they pursue education in a foreign country.
[19th March 2020] New Zealand Closes Border To All Travelers
Only citizens, permanent residents, residents with valid travel conditions and their immediate family (partner or spouse, legal guardian and dependent children under the age of 24) can still come to New Zealand at present. Immediate family must have a valid visa and travel with the country’s citizen or resident family member on the same flight. Exceptions can be made on a case-by-case basis.
[19th March 2020] Canada Closes Border, US Imposes Travel Restrictions For 28 European Countries, Housing Challenge Hounds Universities, Students During COVID-19
The novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic continues to escalate across the world, with Canada sealing its borders and the United States imposing travel restrictions for 28 European nations. International education suffers a direct blow from the new developments, from travel bans to challenges in student housing and access to campuses.
Read more from our MSM Reporter coverage here: https://conta.cc/2x4BQP8.
[11th March 2020] Travel Bans Continue, Study Abroad Programs Reach A Halt, And Impact Goes Beyond Health And Finance
The spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to affect education worldwide, with the World Health Organization (WHO) recently declaring it a pandemic.
Universities lose millions as travel bans prevent foreign students from leaving their countries and international enrollment continues to drop. Schools also have to deal with the cancellation of study-abroad programs, adoption of measures for international students who cannot go home and thus need financial aid, and implementation of measures for people who might have been infected.
More than the financial and health impact of the virus, a growing number of experts and leaders are concerned with its psychological effect on people since anxiety and fear over the outbreak may lead to racism.
Read more from our MSM Reporter coverage here: https://conta.cc/2W6XGfs.
[5th March 2020] Countries Raise Alert Levels, US Schools Cancel Study Abroad Programs, Colleges and Universities Take COVID-19 Measures
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to spread across the world. Countries like Iran, South Korea, and Austria have raised alert levels and closed schools due to new cases of COVID-19 infections and deaths. Spring break has begun in the United States, but a growing number of schools have canceled or postponed study-abroad programs for their students. Students who were allowed to go abroad are now being recalled to the US. Some of the schools are even covering the extra cost of flight changes for their students.
Across regions worldwide, schools are taking added measures and preparing entire procedures in case the virus reaches their communities. Meanwhile, international Chinese students bound for New Zealand are still anxiously awaiting news of the travel ban that affects them. Some international students have also expressed concerns over tuition costs and graduation delays due to the outbreak.
Read more from our MSM Reporter coverage here: https://conta.cc/3auMVri.
[5th March 2020] International Education In The Time Of Coronavirus: An Interview With Prof. Sarah Todd
The MSM team sat down for an interview with Prof. Sarah Todd, President of the Asia-Pacific Association for International Education (APAIE), on the recently announced postponement of the APAIE 2020 Conference and Exhibition until March 2021 due to the global coronavirus outbreak.
At the helm of the regional association and as Vice President for Global at Griffith University, she offers insight into how international education associations and higher education institutions (HEIs) are grappling with the effects of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) on international students and entire communities.