Week of May 31. 2021 | COVID-19 Study Abroad Email Communications

JUNE 3, 2021

EMAIL SENT TO STUDENTS IN THE FOLLOWING PARTNER PROGRAMS: DIS (COPENHAGEN AND STOCKHOLM), AMIDEAST, SFS (COSTA RICA AND TURKS AND CAICOS), SIT (GHANA AND SOUTH AFRICA), TEMPLE ROME, AND SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY

Dear students,

We are writing you today with an important update about your fall 2021/academic year 2021-2022 partner program. Please read this email in its entirety.

After careful review of the current situation in country, the College has approved your partner program to proceed. We are all very excited by this decision and a return to study abroad.

How the decision was made

As with all of our decisions about study abroad, we are prioritizing the health and safety of our students and host communities all over the world as well as the ability to deliver a high-quality academic program.

The College has been guided by information from the following sources:

Brown Global Epidemics
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
The World Health Organization (WHO)
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The US Department of State (DOS)
In country faculty/staff perspective

Please note that due to COVID-19, the State Department has recently given your host country a Level 4 Travel Advisory. They made this update to an additional 114 countries, in order to align better with CDC COVID assessments and for most countries, and with your host country specifically, it does not reflect a worsening of circumstances in the country. Taking all of the above sources together, along with consulting with travel risk specialists and other institutions and organizations, we determined the program could proceed.

What’s next?

Although the program has been approved to go forward, due to the Travel Advisory and COVID-19, we will need you to do two things over the next few days before committing to participate in the program.

There will be a mandatory meeting for all participants on Thursday, June 10 at 12pm EDT. The program may have some modifications, and we need to make sure everyone knows what to expect and understands the shared risks involved. We encourage you to invite your family members to join this meeting so you can make an informed decision together. If you are unable to attend, please email me ASAP to arrange a make-up session. Below is the zoom link.

Join Zoom Meeting

Review the student community compact and special waiver (attached) and send the signed waiver back to me.

Important on-campus housing update

Since you are scheduled to go abroad in the fall, you will not receive a time for room selection from Residence Life & Housing. If you decide that you are not going abroad by Thursday, June 10, Residence Life & Housing will release your room selection time and you will be able to participate in room selection scheduled for June 15-17. If you have any questions, please contact Res Life.

Confirming your participation

After next week’s meeting, if you still plan to participate in the program, you must recommit to the program by completing the following steps by June 17, 2021:

Sign the Student community compact and special waiver (attached) and email the signed document to global@dickinson.edu
Pay your non-refundable confirmation deposit (instructions in your application portal)
If you have not done so already, get the COVID-19 vaccine and upload proof of vaccination to the Dickinson patient portal or email it to health@dickinson.edu. You must be fully vaccinated before the start of the program (you are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 2 weeks after the single-dose of Johnson & Johnson).

On the other hand, we understand that these modifications and expectations may impact some students’ decision to study abroad. Therefore, you will have until June 17, 2021 to notify the CGSE that you no longer wish to participate in the program, and we will withdraw your application without any financial penalty.

If you have any additional questions between now and next Thursday’s meeting, please do not hesitate to reach out. Please note that this information will also be sent to your emergency contacts on file.

Best,

The Center for Global Study and Engagement

Email sent to Dickinson in England participants

Dear students,

We are writing you today with an important update about the Dickinson in England fall 2021 and academic year 2021-2022 program. Please read this email in its entirety.

After careful review of the current situation in England, the College has approved the program to proceed. We are all very excited by this decision and a return to study abroad.

How the decision was made

The College has been guided by information from the following sources:

Brown Global Epidemics
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

The World Health Organization (WHO)
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The US Department of State (DOS)
In country faculty/staff perspective

Please note that due to COVID-19, the State Department has recently given the United Kingdom a Level 3 Travel Advisory. They made this update to the United Kingdom, as well as travel advisory updates to an additional 114 countries, in order to align better with CDC COVID assessments and for most countries, and with the United Kingdom specifically, it does not reflect a worsening of circumstances in the country. Taking all of the above sources together, along with consulting with travel risk specialists and other institutions and organizations, we determined the program could proceed.

What’s next?

Although the program has been approved to go forward, due to the Travel Advisory and COVID-19, we will need you to do 3 things over the next few days before committing to participate in the program.

1) There will be a mandatory meeting for all participants on Thursday, June 10th from 10:00AM-11:30AM EST. Below is the zoom link. The program will have some modifications, and we need to make sure everyone knows what to expect and understands the shared risks involved. We encourage you to invite your family members to join this meeting so you can make an informed decision together. If you are unable to attend, please email me ASAP to arrange a make-up session.

Join Zoom Meeting

2) Review a special waiver that discusses both the travel advisory and COVID-19. This waiver, attached, is being provided to you before the meeting, so you have a chance to formulate questions.

3) Review a community compact that outlines expectations for all participants. This is also provided to you in the attached document.

Important on-campus housing update

Since you are scheduled to go abroad in the fall, you will not receive a time for room selection from Residence Life & Housing.  If you decide that you are not going abroad by Thursday, June 10, Residence Life & Housing will release your room selection time and you will be able to participate in room selection scheduled for June 15-17. If you have any questions, please contact Res Life.

Confirming your participation

After next Thursday’s meeting, if you still plan to participate in the program, you must recommit to the program by completing the following steps by Thursday, June 17th:

Sign the waiver and community compact and email the signed document to Stephanie Gulden: guldens@dickinson.edu
Pay your non-refundable confirmation deposit (instructions in your application portal)
If you have not done so already, get the COVID-19 vaccine and upload proof of vaccination to the Dickinson patient portal or email it to health@dickinson.edu. You must be fully vaccinated before the start of the program (you are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 2 weeks after the dose of Johnson & Johnson).

On the other hand, we understand that these modifications and expectations may impact some students’ decision to study abroad. Therefore, you will have until Thursday, June 17th to notify the CGSE that you no longer wish to participate in the program, and we will withdraw your application without any financial penalty.

Email sent to Dickinson in France Participants

Dear students,

We are writing you today with an important update about the Dickinson in France Fall 2021 semester and Academic Year 2021-2022 program. Please read this email in its entirety.

After careful review of the current situation in France, the College has approved the program to proceed. We are all very excited by this decision and a return to study abroad.

How the decision was made

The College has been guided by information from the following sources:

Brown Global Epidemics
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
The World Health Organization (WHO)
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The US Department of State (DOS)
In country faculty/staff perspective

Please note that due to COVID-19, the State Department has recently given France a Level 4 Travel Advisory. They made this update to France, as well as to an additional 114 countries, in order to align better with CDC COVID assessments and for most countries, and with France specifically, it does not reflect a worsening of circumstances in the country. Taking all of the above sources together, along with consulting with travel risk specialists and other institutions and organizations, we determined the program could proceed.

What’s next?

1. There will be a mandatory meeting for all participants on Friday, June 11 at 9am EDT. The program will have some modifications, and we need to make sure everyone knows what to expect and understands the shared risks involved. We encourage you to invite your family members to join this meeting so you can make an informed decision together. If you are unable to attend, please email me ASAP to arrange a make-up session. Below is the zoom link.

Join Zoom Meeting

2. Review the student community compact and special waiver (attached) and send the signed waiver back to me.

Important on-campus housing update

Confirming your participation

After next Friday’s meeting, if you still plan to participate in the program, you must recommit to the program by completing the following steps by June 18, 2021:

Sign the Student community compact and special waiver (attached) and email the signed document to Marissa Mitchell (mitchmar@dickinson.edu)
Pay your non-refundable confirmation deposit (instructions in your application portal)
If you have not done so already, get the COVID-19 vaccine and upload proof of vaccination to the Dickinson patient portal or email it to health@dickinson.edu. You must be fully vaccinated before the start of the program (you are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 2 weeks after the single-dose of Johnson & Johnson).

On the other hand, we understand that these modifications and expectations may impact some students’ decision to study abroad. Therefore, you will have until June 18, 2021 to notify the CGSE that you no longer wish to participate in the program, and we will withdraw your application without any financial penalty.

If you have any additional questions between now and next Friday’s meeting, please do not hesitate to reach out. Please note that this information will also be sent to your emergency contacts on file.

Email sent to Dickinson in Germany Participants

Dear students,

We are writing you today with an important update about the Dickinson in Germany Fall 2021 semester and Academic Year 2021-2022 program. Please read this email in its entirety.

After careful review of the current situation in Germany, the College has approved the program to proceed. We are all very excited by this decision and a return to study abroad.

How the decision was made

The College has been guided by information from the following sources:

Brown Global Epidemics
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
The World Health Organization (WHO)
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The US Department of State (DOS)
In country faculty/staff perspective

Please note that due to COVID-19, the State Department has recently given Germany a Level 4 Travel Advisory. They made this update to Germany, as well as to an additional 114 countries, in order to align better with CDC COVID assessments and for most countries, and with Germany specifically, it does not reflect a worsening of circumstances in the country. Taking all of the above sources together, along with consulting with travel risk specialists and other institutions and organizations, we determined the program could proceed.

What’s next?

There will be a mandatory meeting for all participants on Friday, June 11 at 10:30am EDT. The program will have some modifications, and we need to make sure everyone knows what to expect and understands the shared risks involved. We encourage you to invite your family members to join this meeting so you can make an informed decision together. If you are unable to attend, please email me ASAP to arrange a make-up session. Below is the zoom link.

Join Zoom Meeting

Review the student community compact and special waiver (attached) and send the signed waiver back to me.

Important on-campus housing update

Confirming your participation

After next Friday’s meeting, if you still plan to participate in the program, you must recommit to the program by completing the following steps by June 18, 2021:

Sign the Student community compact and special waiver (attached) and email the signed document to Marissa Mitchell (mitchmar@dickinson.edu)
Pay your non-refundable confirmation deposit (instructions in your application portal)
If you have not done so already, get the COVID-19 vaccine and upload proof of vaccination to the Dickinson patient portal or email it to health@dickinson.edu. You must be fully vaccinated before the start of the program (you are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 2 weeks after the single-dose of Johnson & Johnson).

Email sent to Dickinson in Italy: European Studies and Dickinson in Italy: Italian Studies participants

Dear students,

We are writing you today with an important update about the Dickinson in Italy fall 2021 program. Please read this email in its entirety.

After careful review of the current situation in Italy, the College has approved the program to proceed. We are all very excited by this decision and a return to study abroad.

How the decision was made

The College has been guided by information from the following sources:

Brown Global Epidemics
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

The World Health Organization (WHO)
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The US Department of State (DOS)
In country faculty/staff perspective

Please note that due to COVID-19, the State Department has recently given Italy a Level 4 Travel Advisory. They made this update to Italy, as well as to an additional 114 countries, in order to align better with CDC COVID assessments and for most countries, and with Italy specifically, it does not reflect a worsening of circumstances in the country. Taking all of the above sources together, along with consulting with travel risk specialists and other institutions and organizations, we determined the program could proceed.

What’s next?

Although the program has been approved to go forward, due to the Travel Advisory and COVID-19, we will need you to do 3 things over the next few days before committing to participate in the program.

1) There will be a mandatory meeting for all participants on Friday, June 11th from 12PM-1:30PM EST. Below is the zoom link. The program will have some modifications, and we need to make sure everyone knows what to expect and understands the shared risks involved. We encourage you to invite your family members to join this meeting so you can make an informed decision together. If you are unable to attend, please email me ASAP to arrange a make-up session.

Join Zoom Meeting

2) Review a special waiver that discusses both the travel advisory and COVID-19. This waiver, attached, is being provided to you before the meeting, so you have a chance to formulate questions.

3) Review a community compact that outlines expectations for all participants. This is also provided to you in the attached document.

Important on-campus housing update

Since you are scheduled to go abroad in the fall, you will not receive a time for room selection from Residence Life & Housing.  If you decide that you are not going abroad by Thursday, June 10, Residence Life & Housing will release your room selection time and you will be able to participate in room selection scheduled for June 15-17. If you have any questions, please contact Res Life.

Confirming your participation

After next Friday’s meeting, if you still plan to participate in the program, you must recommit to the program by completing the following steps by Thursday, June 17th:

Sign the waiver and community compact and email the signed document to Stephanie Gulden: guldens@dickinson.edu
Pay your non-refundable confirmation deposit (instructions in your application portal)
If you have not done so already, get the COVID-19 vaccine and upload proof of vaccination to the Dickinson patient portal or email it to health@dickinson.edu. You must be fully vaccinated before the start of the program (you are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 2 weeks after the dose of Johnson & Johnson).

Email sent to Dickinson in Korea Participants

We are writing you today with an important update about the Dickinson in Korea fall 2021/academic year 2021-2022 program. Please read this email in its entirety.

After careful review of the current situation in South Korea, the College has approved your partner program to proceed. We are all very excited by this decision and a return to study abroad.

How the decision was made

The College has been guided by information from the following sources:

Brown Global Epidemics
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
The World Health Organization (WHO)
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The US Department of State (DOS)
In country faculty/staff perspective

Please note that due to COVID-19, the State Department has recently updated the travel advisories for the majority of countries, in order to align better with CDC COVID assessments and for most countries, and with South Korea specifically, it does not reflect a worsening of circumstances in the country. Taking all of the above sources together, along with consulting with travel risk specialists and other institutions and organizations, we determined the program could proceed.

What’s next?

There will be a mandatory meeting on Monday, June 14 at 10pm EDT. The program may have some modifications and there may be quarantine requirements, and we need to make sure everyone knows what to expect and understands the shared risks involved. We encourage you to invite your family members to join this meeting so you can make an informed decision together. If you are unable to attend, please email me ASAP to arrange a make-up session. Below is the zoom link.
Review the student community compact and special waiver (attached) and send the signed waiver back to me.

Important on-campus housing update

Confirming your participation

After the meeting, if you still plan to participate in the program, you must recommit to the program by completing the following steps by June 21, 2021:

Sign the Student community compact and special waiver (attached) and email the signed document to global@dickinson.edu
Pay your non-refundable confirmation deposit (instructions in your application portal)
If you have not done so already, get the COVID-19 vaccine and upload proof of vaccination to the Dickinson patient portal or email it to health@dickinson.edu. You must be fully vaccinated before the start of the program (you are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 2 weeks after the single-dose of Johnson & Johnson).

On the other hand, we understand that these modifications and expectations may impact some students’ decision to study abroad. Therefore, you will have until June 21, 2021 to notify the CGSE that you no longer wish to participate in the program, and we will withdraw your application without any financial penalty.

If you have any additional questions between now and the meeting, please do not hesitate to reach out. Please note that this information will also be sent to your emergency contacts on file.

Email sent to Dickinson at Oxford Participants

Dear students,

We are writing you today with an important update about the Dickinson at Oxford academic year 2021-2022 program. Please read this email in its entirety.

After careful review of the current situation in England, the College has approved the program to proceed. We are all very excited by this decision and a return to study abroad.

How the decision was made

The College has been guided by information from the following sources:

Brown Global Epidemics
Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control

The World Health Organization (WHO)
The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
The US Department of State (DOS)
In country faculty/staff perspective

What’s next?

Although the program has been approved to go forward, due to the Travel Advisory and COVID-19, we will need you to do 3 things over the next few days before committing to participate in the program.

1) There will be a mandatory meeting for all participants on Tuesday, June 15th from 11:00AM-12:30PM EST. Below is the zoom link. The program will have some modifications, and we need to make sure everyone knows what to expect and understands the shared risks involved. We encourage you to invite your family members to join this meeting so you can make an informed decision together. If you are unable to attend, please email me ASAP to arrange a make-up session.

2) Review a special waiver that discusses both the travel advisory and COVID-19. This waiver, attached, is being provided to you before the meeting, so you have a chance to formulate questions.

3) Review a community compact that outlines expectations for all participants. This is also provided to you in the attached document.

Important on-campus housing update

Since you are scheduled to go abroad in the fall, you will not receive a time for room selection from Residence Life & Housing.  If you decide that you are not going abroad by Thursday, June 10, Residence Life & Housing will release your room selection time and you will be able to participate in room selection scheduled for June 15-17. If you have any questions, please contact Res Life.

Confirming your participation

After the meeting, if you still plan to participate in the program, you must recommit to the program by completing the following steps by Tuesday, June 22nd:

Sign the waiver and community compact and email the signed document to Stephanie Gulden: guldens@dickinson.edu
Pay your non-refundable confirmation deposit (instructions in your application portal)
If you have not done so already, get the COVID-19 vaccine and upload proof of vaccination to the Dickinson patient portal or email it to health@dickinson.edu. You must be fully vaccinated before the start of the program (you are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after your second dose of Pfizer or Moderna and 2 weeks after the dose of Johnson & Johnson).

On the other hand, we understand that these modifications and expectations may impact some students’ decision to study abroad. Therefore, you will have until Tuesday, June 22nd to notify the CGSE that you no longer wish to participate in the program, and we will withdraw your application without any financial penalty.

If you have any additional questions between now and the meeting, please do not hesitate to reach out. Please note that this information will also be sent to your emergency contacts on file.

Email sent to students participating in Dickinson in Japan and Akita International University

Dear students,

I am reaching out to you today regarding the Japan program for the fall 2021 semester/Academic Year 2021-2022.

While CGSE has approved a majority of fall 2021 study abroad programs to proceed, we have made the difficult decision to suspend the Japan program for the fall 2021 semester. This is due to a combination of factors, including health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic in-country and the borders of Japan being closed to most visitors with no indication as to when they will re-open. We understand that this announcement may not come as a surprise to you, but is disappointing, nonetheless.

NEXT STEPS

Want to switch to another program?

If you are interested in switching to a different program for fall 2021, please email me at mitchmar@dickinson.edu and I can open a new application for you, as long as that program can still accept late applicants and you meet the eligibility requirements. We can copy over as much as we can of your Japan application so that you will not need to start from the beginning on your new application. At the very least, you will need to request new advisor approval forms for your new program application.

Want to defer to another semester?

If you would like to defer your application to the Spring 2022 semester, please let me know and we can update your application.

NEW Dickinson in Washington, DC program opportunity – spots still available!

Additionally, we did want to let you know that we are still accepting applications for the new Dickinson in DC program for fall 2021. The Dickinson in DC program successfully ran during the spring semester, despite COVID, and we anticipate a similar program structure in the fall. We understand that this past year has brought significant uncertainty for students, and some may be interested in a study away program that does not require international travel. This program offers students the opportunity to connect with industry leading internships and is open to students of all majors.

Want to learn more?

Visit the program webpage
Click on the video below to watch a short overview of the program.

Important on-campus housing update

Since your abroad program has been cancelled for the fall, we have notified Residence Life and Housing of this change and you will receive a time for room selection from Residence Life & Housing unless you decide to apply to a different program for the fall. In that case you would not receive a time for room selection, even if your new study abroad application has not been finalized. If you have any questions, please contact Res Life.

Again, we know this is disappointing news, so please do not hesitate to reach out if you have any questions. If you would like to make an advising appointment to discuss an alternative program option or have other questions, please feel free to schedule an advising appointment with me using the link in my signature below.

Email sent to Dickinson in Russia participants

Dear students,

I am reaching out to you today regarding the Dickinson in Russia program for the fall 2021 semester/Academic Year 2021-2022.

While CGSE has approved a majority of fall 2021 study abroad programs to proceed, we have made the difficult decision to suspend the Russia program for the fall 2021 semester. This is due to a combination of factors, including health and safety concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic in-country. We understand that this announcement may not come as a surprise to you, but is disappointing, nonetheless.

NEXT STEPS

Want to switch to another program?

If you are interested in switching to a different program for fall 2021, please email me at mitchmar@dickinson.edu and I can open a new application for you, as long as that program can still accept late applicants and you meet the eligibility requirements. We can copy over as much as we can of your Russia application so that you will not need to start from the beginning on your new application. At the very least, you will need to request new advisor approval forms for your new program application.

Want to defer to another semester?

If you would like to defer your application to the Spring 2022 semester, please let me know and we can update your application.

NEW Dickinson in Washington, DC program opportunity – spots still available!

Want to learn more?

Visit the program webpage
Click on the video to watch a short overview of the program.

Important on-campus housing update