OSAC

As members of the AACUPI steering committee, we contributed to writing the COVID-19 protocols for US study abroad programs in Italy. This means that our team is promptly and actively informed of all changes (local and national) that could impact our students.

Before the beginning of the program, students will receive a detailed Pre-Departure handbook listing all requirements and preventive measures put in place by their host Institute. Any further changes will be immediately communicated to the students and the study abroad office by email, through the Institute website and APP.

In compliance with Italian and EU Community laws we provide 14-day quarantine measures, testing with local certified medical services, and, if possible, vaccination.

All incoming students are responsible for acquiring an insurance policy independently or through their home university. In addition to those US insurance policies, AACUPI and the Umbrian and Tuscan Region have signed an agreement on various forms of medical assistance specifically for international students in this part of Italy.

The Student Services Office at the student’s host Institute will inform the relative Study Abroad Office and reach out to our Student Services Coordinator. The latter will outline the steps to be taken in accordance with Italian and EU anti-Covid guidelines. Finally, should the student need immediate medical attention, their host Institute will intervene activating the proper medical institutions.

We urge all students to fly into Italy taking direct so-called “COVID free” flights. In addition, the students must have proof of a negative Covid-19 molecular or antigen test carried out no earlier than 48 hours prior to their arrival in Italy. If they happen to land in Rome Fiumicino, they are urged to take an antigen test that is available at this airport.

Anti-Covid tests are available upon request. The staff at our Institutes monitor students’ conditions on a daily basis by applying Italian and EU anti-covid guidelines including temperature checks when students, faculty and staff access our facilities.

They will be isolated from their peers and, if necessary, they will be moved to different private apartments, to a Covid Hotel or to a hospital. Time to get tests and results may vary (24-72 hours) depending on the kind of test and on the number of local COVID cases at that time.

Students will have to download and use the Contact Tracing App (called “Immuni”) developed by the Italian Ministry of Health. All external visitors to the Institute (repair personnel, guest speakers, etc.) will be screened prior to entry and required to sign in and out for institutional contact tracing purposes.

A different private apartment, a COVID hotel or a local hospital, if necessary, are the solutions considered by our institutions and can be made available in accordance with situational needs.

In case of a student being quarantined or the host country being put in lockdown, our Institutes guarantee academic continuity through online courses. Quarantined/isolated students can rely on our 24/7 Emergency Service for health and safety reasons. During office hours, our Student Services Coordinators are available for any emergencies the students may have, including issues with housing, food delivery, WIFI support and related matters. When students are placed in quarantine/isolation (upon arrival or during the semester), our team will provide them with a list of local food and grocery delivery services and a reminder of procedures to be followed should symptoms appear. Finally, our Institutes work with local, professional psychological counselors.

Our Student Services Coordinators serve as liaison between our Institutes on one hand and Italy’s public service on the other. Their tasks include making sure that all Italian/EU anti-Covid preventive measures are enforced and respected both in students’ apartments and on our Institutes’ premises. Obviously, this includes such basic measures as social distancing, contact tracing systems, sanitization of spaces, and the like.

In compliance with the guidelines issued by the Italian Ministry of Health, our Health and Safety Coordinator will contact the local public health entities in charge of the related procedures (main public hospital, the doctor officially assigned to our firm by the Italian public health system and Misericordia because of its agreement with AACUPI).

In keeping with guidelines that may be issued by the local health authorities, our administration would close the Institute(s) facilities if necessary.

Our staff have been duly informed by our Student Services Coordinators on all the necessary COVID-19 procedures to be enforced both in our facilities and in the students’ apartments. This training will be extended to faculty before the reopening of our Institute. It should also be noted that this training is ongoing and coordinated by both the Institutes’ Directors and Student Services team, ensuring that our team can respond to various COVID-related scenarios in line with the latest government directives.

In case of another significant COVID-19 wave, our Institutes will follow and enforce all restrictions and guidelines issued by the local health authorities. This may include the transfer of all academic courses online and canceling course-related field trips and museum visits. We host students from various private and public institutions in the United States and are prepared to support their students’ return to the United States, should such action be required by an individual school’s internal risk management requirements. In doing so, the Institute(s) will work closely with all students and professors involved to ensure academic continuity and any potential refunds in line with our refund policy.

As we did halfway through the Spring 2020 semester, and again for a small group of students during the Fall 2020 semester, all courses will be transferred online if necessary. Remote learning/teaching will continue also in case students must repatriate, as happened in Spring 2020. Our remote learning/teaching tools are the best-known software available for this educational purpose, such as Moodle and Zoom meetings. Our professors have all been asked to integrate use of an online platform (Moodle, etc.) with their course, where possible, even when on-site learning is active. This will allow students to become familiar with the platform so that they can easily transition entirely to online learning, should that be required.

Students are expected to comply with all COVID-related policies in the same way that they have always been required to comply with health & safety rules and guidance. All new COVID-related responsibilities are spelled out in all of our informational materials both online and on paper, thus including the pre-departure handbook, the students handbook and the slides we provide during orientation (which are then sent to all students by email from our Student Services Offices within 48 hours of their arrival). In addition, a considerable number of clear infographics on COVID preventive measures are available both on our premises and in the students’ apartments.

We always notify the home institution in case of student conduct violations. The host Institute’s disciplinary action will comply with the policies and procedures of the student’s home university if  so requested.

No, not if the student attending our program is of legal age.

All Covid related information is shared by our Institutes in compliance with GDPR and specific guidelines issued by the local Italian authorities.

Since all of our students are of legal age, information of this nature is always shared by our Institutes directly with the student’s home university (Study Abroad Offices). Information deemed to be urgent in nature will be communicated to a student’s emergency contact(s) in line with standard procedure and the student’s consent, as provided in pre-departure forms.

All students will receive housing placements in apartments.

In addition to all the COVID prevention measures listed above, we have increased the number of apartments with larger, more open living spaces and made more single rooms available. However, not every student can be guaranteed a single room. Additional costs may be applied now that requests for single rooms are more common. Furthermore, all apartments will include signage with our COVID guidelines, visitor restrictions will be fully enforced at all times, and we will make regular cleaning and sterilization services upon request.

For safety reasons, students are discouraged from living in an apartment on their own. However, single rooms are available at an additional fee. Priority is given to students with certified medical reasons for making this request.

Field trips and excursions will be limited to the host city and surrounding region and mainly for outdoor activities. No overnight stays are included at this time. All other Institute-sponsored activities (conferences, cooking classes, etc.) are canceled until further notice.

All students are expected to fill out the travel information form no later than Wednesday at 5pm every week. If they fail to do so, they will receive an official reminder from Umbra the following morning. Failing to complete the independent travel form will result in disciplinary action.

Students can always rely on the support of our Student Services offices for any need they have regarding their personal travels.

Students are strongly discouraged by our Institute from traveling to unsafe areas either because of a spike in Covid cases or any other reason. To this purpose our Institutes provide them with up to date information on a daily basis, often relying on OSAC official announcements. Should a student be unable to return to our program as expected, they will receive immediate support from our 24/7 Emergency Service. Students will be individually responsible for completing coursework during their absence. Professors and staff will work with the absent student to ensure that they can complete their coursework remotely or in a timely manner upon their return to Perugia.

In this case too our students must immediately inform our 24/7 Emergency Service who will provide them with instructions together with their host program’s Health, Safety and Wellness Coordinator. Accommodations will be made with the student’s professors in order to ensure academic continuity from quarantine or should the student need to take time off from their studies for treatment.