Throughout today, various members of the Ashesi team have been working to guide the University through the recent decision to pause classes and the President of Ghana’s directive that all universities close. We would like to thank everyone for the incredible commitment to ensuring our community stays safe and is able to manage this disruption in as healthy a way as possible.  Following various discussions today, here are additional measures to be implemented at Ashesi. Please do make sure to read through this entire memo.

Campus Closing & Additional Restrictions
a. To better ensure safety, access to campus will immediately be restricted starting tomorrow. This means that students who leave at any point will not be allowed to return.

b. All students living in Ghana are required to go home by 5.00 pm on Wednesday, March 18, 2020. The University will be providing shuttle services into Accra on Tuesday and Wednesday. Buses will move from campus to bus stations at the Kwame Nkrumah Interchange, in three-hour intervals starting from 9.00 am.

c. International students will be allowed to remain on campus until 5.00 pm on Saturday, within which time we ask that you make flight arrangements.

d. International students, who may not be able to travel back home within this period for extenuating reasons, will be allowed to stay on campus for now. Essential services – dining, health and janitorial services, facilities and estate support, and counseling – will be available for students who stay. International students who stay will be required to shelter on campus, and not leave university premises. The University is also exploring homestay arrangements for international students who cannot travel home.

Teaching & Learning Continuation
a. This semester will be broken into two halves. We will consider the first half of the semester (Segment A) to have ended on March 13th, 2020. The second half of the semester (Segment B) will begin online, and we currently expect this to happen from March 30th, 2020.Students and faculty should prepare to begin classes online from this stated date unless informed otherwise.

b. Students who will not be able to take classes online from home will be allowed to defer Segment B of this semester until the campus is fully reopened.

c. Information on how online classes will be deployed will be shared with the University community before March 30th.

Teaching and Learning Guidance for Faculty and Staff
a. Faculty will be generally supported by the I.T. office to prepare for online instruction. Specialised support will be provided for faculty who need it.

b. The Office of the Provost and Academic Quality Assurance Committee will work with faculty to decide on a modified grading structure for the semester segments.

Business Continuity Guidance
a. Various staff teams will prepare a plan for continued business operations. Heads of Departments should have discussions with their teams (via remote conferencing) to decide how work will be scheduled and distributed during this time. As much as possible, we are moving to remote working. Only essential staff, as designated by Departmental Heads, should be commuting to campus.

b. Teams should designate leads, and define team members who will step in as alternates. Should a team lead be unable to work, or need to go on sick leave, supporting staff will step in to ensure essential operations continue.

c. The Admissions Office will continue operating online. Prospective students must submit their applications via our online portal or by email. Until further notice, applications cannot be brought to campus. The Office will be communicating dates for webinars and online admissions sessions by Monday, March 23rd.

Counseling Support & Guidance
We understand that this situation may have a toll on our community. Here are a few things you can engage in during these times to protect your mental health, as prescribed by our Counseling Team.

a. Choose one credible source of information (WHO, or the Ghana Ministry of Health) and check it at periodic times in a day for reassurance. Avoid news from unconfirmed social media posts and also share information you have confirmed.

b. Have a schedule during the day to engage in some indoor activities such as reading, writing, singing, cleaning or any productive activity on your list. Only go out into public places if necessary and if the venue has adequate social distancing.

c. Check on family and friends using technology and support each other with reassuring words. Don’t underestimate your resiliency and our collective ability to overcome this challenge.

d. Don’t fight your fears; accept them and talk about it.

e. Remind yourself to eat healthy, exercise, have enough sleep and laugh when you have to.

f. Should you be overwhelmed, kindly reach out to the Counselling, Coaching and Academic Advising team whose names are listed in the campus-wide email sent.   

In the interest of the well-being of our entire community, we will be sending updates like this as frequently as possible to ensure you are all aware of ongoing conversations and planning. We strongly encourage everyone to follow guidelines communicated, to stay safe and not expose friends, classmates, and colleagues to unnecessary risk. Please do continue to practise all hygiene measures previously communicated and listed here on the WHO’s website: wash your hands frequently; use alcohol-based sanitisers; avoid touching your face; and report any concern to the health team on campus.