• The University has in place its rules, regulations and procedures for handling deferments, suspensions, and withdrawals of studies. These are set out in its Academic Regulations and are deliberately couched in terminology that embraces unforeseen and foreseen events, and, thereby, apply to epidemics and their impact on students (available on request);
• With regard to the current epidemic and its implications for teaching and learning arrangements, USJ has issued two documents concerning attendance equivalence and assessment, both of which refer to online special arrangements, and these apply to student and staff within and outside Macao (available on request);
• USJ has conducted two surveys of students’ and academic staff responses to the first five months of these arrangements (executive summaries are available on request);
• Where/when classes take place in face-to-face teaching, USJ abides by the requirements of the DSES and the Macao Health Department, and details of USJ’s arrangements have been submitted to the DSES;
• Within its existing regulations, USJ has already notified the relevant students of extensions that are available to study and dissertation/thesis submission periods, specifically with reference to matters of the present epidemic;
• Academic members of staff, including Deans and Programme Coordinators, have been issued with requirements and criteria for running online- and classroom-based teaching, learning and assessment;
• The University already has a mechanism whereby students wishing to apply for deferments, suspensions, and withdrawals of studies need to have brought this matter to academic staff, such that, where relevant, special arrangements can be made to accommodate students’ requests, challenges and situations, in order to provide support and to enable students to continue their studies with and without interruption, to suit the situation;
• ‘Special measures’ here fall within existing regulations, rules and procedures which are designed to include these; students are advised to discuss their situations with academic staff at USJ, and with members of the Office of Student and Alumni Affairs, and/or the Academic Affairs Office and/or the Finance and Human Resources Office, each and any of whom can discuss specific cases concerning problems that students are encountering, personally, financially, academically, psychologically etc.;
• Special arrangements are available to students with regard to payment of fees during this time, as they are at any time. In the event of financial hardship and emergency hardship which impacts on students’ decisions concerning deferment, suspension or withdrawal, students can apply to the Hardship Fund (documents available on request).

Last Updated: August 11, 2020 at 5:24 pm