Only employees in “vital processes” are allowed to enter the campus. The urgent request to everyone else, including the students, is to stay at home. The Executive Board just sent an email to the VU community. Below the full text.
Dear employees and students,
Today, the government decided to close all schools, catering establishments and childcare facilities until 6 April to stop the further spread of the coronavirus. Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam will also close down from now on, except for the vital processes.
What does this mean for VU employees?
We call on employees not to come to VU Amsterdam and work from home. You can find more information about this on VUnet.
Teachers
We have already asked teachers to find alternative ways to continue their teaching. Together, we will work might and main to make this happen. In order to facilitate the transition to remote teaching, a Canvas page has been set up with compact information about the possibilities of online teaching. More possibilities will be added to this page next week. We will continue to work on this.
PhD candidates
Defence ceremonies at VU Amsterdam are postponed. The beadle will contact PhD students and their promoters. If this leads to insurmountable problems, a suitable solution will be sought in consultation.
Vital processes
Employees working in vital processes on campus, such as energy supply, security and technical systems, hygiene, company emergency organisation, remain at work, possibly in a weekend and holiday shift. Further agreements will be made with the relevant teams about this matter.
What about my children?
We understand that our employees with school-age children or children who normally go to day care will be in a difficult position from tomorrow onwards. Please consult with your supervisor about how you can best continue your work.
What does this mean for VU students?
The (physical) education and the exams that were planned on VU campus and external locations have already been cancelled. Studying and using facilities such as the University Library at VU Amsterdam will not be possible until 6 April.
Education
Education will be offered online as much as possible until 6 April. Keep an eye on the Canvas page of the subjects you are following. This page provides information on how and if remote education takes place. For subjects that are not offered online, we will look for another solution.
(Re)Examinations
The (re)exams that are planned from 16 March until 20 March will not take place. For the exams that are planned in the week from 23 March until 27 March or after, alternative ways of taking the exams (remotely) are currently being looked into. On Tuesday 17 March, our study programmes will provide clarity about this via Canvas. For (re)exams that cannot be taken because of the coronavirus, another opportunity is planned within this academic year.
Internships
Students who are currently doing an internship at VU Amsterdam or at an external workplace should stay at home. Appropriate solutions will be looked into in the coming period.
Working or studying abroad
We call on students and employees who are currently abroad for work or study to return immediately. Travelling abroad for study, internship or research purposes is currently not considered necessary and should be postponed or cancelled.
Communication
We will keep you informed with updates via www.vu.nl/coronavirus in the near future. The answers to frequently asked questions will also be adjusted to the new situation as soon as possible. If there is urgent information that everyone needs to know, we will send you an email.
The Netherlands is experiencing unprecedented times. We are doing everything we can to continue education in the coming weeks and to facilitate working from home as much as possible. We urge you to stay at home as much as you can and to adhere to the measures taken by the central government.
We ask our staff, students and student associations to adhere to these guidelines in their activities outside the university as well. Take the call seriously: stay at home and make sure there is sufficient social isolation.
Finally, look out for each other. We’re in this together.
Kind regards,
The Executive Board