Dear students,
I am writing to provide a few updates on our planning for Semester 2.
We look forward to welcoming all in our community back to campus. The on-campus experience at ANU is one of the distinctive features that make our university stand out among the world's many great universities.
Earlier today my University of Canberra Vice-Chancellor colleague, Professor Paddy Nixon and I have decided to delay the pilot program to arrange a safe passage for some of our offshore students to join us in Canberra for Semester 2, due to the Covid-19 outbreak in Victoria.
A great deal of detailed planning and collaboration has gone into the pilot and we do remain committed to providing a model that will work for our students and the ACT community, and that can be used for all our students, wherever they are in the world.
We will continue to work with the relevant government authorities on finalising this model and making arrangements to bring our offshore and Victorian students back to campus as soon as it is safe.
For those who are returning to campus, or have already arrived and are settling into CovidSafe campus life, the situation in Victoria is a reminder to us all that we must remain vigilant in our practices to prevent the spread of the virus.
Our hearts go out to our friends and colleagues in Victoria. This could happen to any community and that's why we will be enforcing the University's CovidSafe guidelines and expecting all students to adhere to the relevant state and territory governments' travel restrictions and quarantine periods. Students who are found to knowingly ignore Covid-19 guidelines may face disciplinary action.
I am sorry that I need to take such a tough line to protect our community. For all our students, our main priority is your health and wellbeing. We know this year has not been what you'd have hoped, and if you require support, I encourage you to make use of the many services we have available.
I know many of you will have questions about what Semester 2 will look like, and what my teams are doing to keep you all safe and healthy. Please bring all your questions, on any topic, to my student forum on Tuesday 14 July at 2pm. You can register here.
I miss all of our students and I am really looking forward to having our lawns, coffee shops, classrooms and labs alive with activity again soon.
Until then, stay safe.
Brian
