Gachon University Delays Semester Start by 2 Weeks Due to 'Novel Coronavirus'

[Asia Economy (Seongnam) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Gachon University has decided to postpone the start of the semester by two weeks due to the spread of the 'novel coronavirus' infection. Additionally, considering the large number of Chinese international graduate students, the graduate school semester has been delayed until April.

On the 4th, Gachon University held an emergency countermeasure committee meeting chaired by the president and announced on the 5th that the undergraduate semester will be postponed by two weeks to March 16, and the graduate school semester will be delayed by one month to April 1. Instead, the 2 to 4 weeks of missed classes will be compensated through make-up classes and assignment submissions.

Gachon University also canceled the degree conferment ceremony, entrance ceremony, and new student orientation. However, the graduation ceremony will partially allow academic gown rentals and photo sessions according to students' wishes, and students who wish to participate will be integrated into the late-term degree conferment ceremony held in August.

Gachon University has also decided to suspend sending exchange students to China and business trips or student dispatches to Hong Kong and other Chinese-speaking regions for the time being. In addition, students' hotel internships have been shortened from 8 weeks to 4 weeks.

For Chinese international students, Gachon University has prepared a plan to use the international student dormitory, requiring fever checks and reporting procedures (visit area and duration) before admission.

A Gachon University official stated, "To provide accurate information to international students, we will actively inform them through the university website, SNS, and email in foreign languages including Chinese and English."

Gachon University has a total of 1,816 international students, with 949 Chinese international students enrolled in undergraduate, graduate, and language training programs.

Earlier, Dankook University postponed the start of the semester by two weeks to the 16th of next month.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.