Associated Colleges in China (ACC) has cancelled its summer 2003 program in Beijing in response to the SARS outbreak in the country.
The decision affects 54 students from colleges and universities across the U.S., including Smith, Swarthmore, Wellesley, Brown, Yale, Williams, Harvard, Carleton, Penn and Hamilton, among others. The summer term was to begin in mid-June and conclude eight weeks later. Courses are offered for Chinese language students in intermediate and advanced levels.
"We have been following the development of SARS closely," ACC General Director Hong Gang Jin said in a letter to the affected students. "The current atmosphere in China would severely curtail numerous components of the program such as field trips, weekend excursions and language practica. At this time, it is clear that the chance of controlling the SARS situation by June is quite slim. We therefore have reached the conclusion that it is not going to be absolutely safe for ACC students to come to China in the summer."
ACC is an intensive Chinese language instruction program administered by the East Asian Languages and Literature program at Hamilton College, in conjunction with Oberlin and Williams colleges. The year-round study abroad program offers terms in the summer, fall and spring. If they choose to do so, students who were enrolled in this summer's term will have guaranteed placement in the fall 2003, spring 2004 or summer 2004 session. Students also have the option of pursuing Chinese language study in the U.S.
"For those of you still intent on completing at least some Chinese language study this summer we've made an effort to notify you early enough so that you may be admitted to a domestic language study program. Although it won't be the 'total immersion' experience that you had expected, it will still allow you to continue with your language studies this summer," Jin wrote in her letter.
In making the decision to cancel the summer 2003 term, Jin said ACC established a set of criteria that had to be met by early May. These criteria included:
- The lifting or downgrading of the WHO travel warning to Beijing
- The revelation of a major breakthrough in infection control
- The availability of an effective medical treatment for SARS
- The availability of preventative pills or measures to treat the virus
- A significant decline in the number of SARS patients
- A near-zero death rate
"We regret having to make this decision," Jin said, "however the safety of our students and their comfort level in Beijing must be our first priority."
The decision to cancel the summer program follows earlier action by ACC to accelerate the spring 2003 term. That term, which was originally scheduled to conclude on May 2, ended on April 13 in response to travel advisories by the U.S. Department of State. Students received full academic credit for the term, and none showed signs of the SARS virus.
ACC will continue monitoring State Department and WHO advisories and expects to make a decision about the fall 2003 term later this summer.
