August 4, 2020.

Second Semester Classes

Dear Current Students and Parents

We gratefully acknowledge the understanding and cooperation of all our students and parents that has enabled us to complete our first semester program of online classes, a method of teaching necessitated by the Corona Disaster. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for your kind support.

The Novel Coronavirus has, most unfortunately, been spreading ever more rapidly in the Tokyo metropolitan area since the beginning of July. There are still no signs that the outbreak is under control; if anything, the current indications are that it may spread even more broadly in the fall and winter months. Since the current situation is so unpredictable, students, faculty and staff must, without delay, begin to prepare flexibly for the second semester. In our planning for this we will be taking into account the wide range of feedback, both positive and negative, that we have received from students to date about a range of subjects, including commuting and online classes, about which there are naturally concerns and anxieties. We will continue to incorporate such feedback as we update our measures to maintain a safe and secure learning environment in an uncertain world, one where future developments caused by the infection may create fresh challenges.

Since our paramount concern remains to ensure the safety and peace of mind of our students, we have decided that all classes during the second semester will be offered on a distance learning basis, but that for some of them (e.g. practical training courses, courses that require the use of university facilities, and those with a teacher in charge) students will have the option of face-to-face instruction on campus. However, if a state of emergency is declared or the university is requested to suspend classes at any future point, such classes with the option of face-to-face instruction will thenceforward be conducted entirely online.

Detailed information about the option of face-to-face classes will be posted on the Reitaku portal by the end of August. We will work to ensure that students who come to the school for face-to-face classes will also have access on campus to online classes, while those who have difficulty taking up the face-to-face option on campus will be able to access these classes online. In the coming days we will send out a questionnaire to those who wish to take such classes online. As in the first semester, we will continue to support those studying at home who have to contend with Internet connectivity problems.

Finally, we ask that you continue to take all possible care to safeguard both yourselves and those around you against this dangerous infection, as everyone works together to face this ongoing challenge. We all look forward to the day when we can learn together on campus with smiles on our faces, and we sincerely apologize for the concern and inconvenience that these measures to combat the pandemic are causing you. Once again we ask you to accept our deep appreciation for your ongoing understanding and cooperation.

Suminori Tokunaga, Ph.D.
President,
Reitaku University

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