Citing SARS, Duke halts China program

Concerns about the SARS outbreak in China have led University administrators to relocate the summer study abroad program from Beijing to North Carolina.

Mavis Mayer, administrative coordinator for the Duke Study in China program at the Asian Pacific Studies Institute, said last Thursday's decision came on the heels of a State Department ban on travel to China and a similar recommendation from the World Health Organization that travelers postpone itineraries for non-essential visits to the country.

"The situation was taken out of our hands when the State Department and World Health Organization issued their warnings," Mayer said. "At Duke, we have a standing rule on campus that while those warnings are in effect for a country, we do not operate our study abroad program there."

When SARS, or Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, first became front-page news, the APSI and the Office of Study Abroad told students they would make a decision concerning the summer program at the end of April. Once the State Department issued its travel ban, however, administrators decided to bump up the decision by a week.

"The situation in China has been getting worse, to the point where they are closing hospitals and schools," said Margaret Riley, director of study abroad. "We felt it wasn't reasonable to be hopeful that the advisories would be [lifted]. There was no need to postpone the decision to cancel when the evidence is so obvious that things aren't getting better."

Officials said they are currently working with students on an alternate summer program that they believe will provide high-intensity Chinese language instruction like the program in Beijing. The decision to relocate the program to North Carolina affects more than 50 students who were to leave for China in mid-June.

Among the options in consideration for the alternate program are an eight-week program-two at Duke and six at the University's marine lab in Beaufort-and a condensed six-week program with classes meeting six days a week.

"We regret that students won't have the added component of being taught on site-the experience of living and learning the language in China-but students have been very understanding and realize that we have no control over the situation," Riley said. "We believe the opportunities we provide in an alternate location will still be a quality experience for students."

Riley said the alternate program will cover the same amount of material and students will receive the same credits they would have received for participating in the program in Beijing. Mayer added that some of the teachers who have been at Duke and were planning to return to China will instead remain in North Carolina to help with the program.

APSI and the Office of Study Abroad have not yet made a decision regarding the fall session of study abroad in China, which has accepted 18 students into its program in Hangzhou. Mayer said officials are waiting to re-evaluate the situation in a month, by which time she hopes there will have been advances toward a treatment for SARS.

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