We were very pleased to learn that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security agreed to rescind its July 6 guidance. This would have, among other things, required our international students to take in-person classes in order to maintain their visa status.
Category: Employees
Following last week’s government directive requiring international students to take at least one in-person class to maintain their visa status, USC immediately began reaching out to bring together some of the leading research institutions, liberal arts colleges, and public universities in the western United States to block the directive from being enforced. Today, our powerful coalition of 20 schools filed its own lawsuit against the federal government.
In the past few days, a cluster of 15 positive cases of COVID-19 among houses located on 28th Street has been identified and is being evaluated. Patients with confirmed positive tests are in self-isolation at home or are in the process of being privately transported to isolation. We have seen a rapid acceleration in community spread in the last three weeks. The current positivity rate for L.A. County is 11%, which is up from 5% about three weeks ago.
We are deeply troubled by the updated guidance that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) released Monday requiring international students to take at least one in-person class to maintain their visa status. Given the broad range of courses being offered, both in person and online, we are optimistic we will be able to support our international students to study in person safely if they wish, but it may take a few days.
Charles Zukoski, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, and David Wright, Senior Vice President for Administration, share an update on undergraduate classes for fall 2020, including scheduling, and on-campus housing.
In light of the rising COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles, we remind employees on campus to adhere to safe physical distancing and diligent face covering wearing when around co-workers and others on-campus.
Felicia Washington, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, and Charles Zukoski, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, share an important update with faculty and staff on COVID-19 training and daily wellness checks.
USC student-athletes will begin a phased return to campus for voluntary workouts beginning on June 24.
As we begin a phased approach toward resuming some on-campus activities, Provost Charles Zukoski shares the progress we have made in a number of areas.
USC has a potential budget gap of $300 to $500 million in FY 2021. The gap arises from lost revenues and increased costs associated with COVID-19. We are preparing for a prolonged economic recovery that could impact our finances for several years. We remain confident that we can close this gap for FY 2021, and over the next year, develop plans to emerge stronger from the pandemic.