Dear students,
Once again, Greetings from the Office of the Vice Chancellor!
I hope and pray that you and your families are in your good health! You all know how challenging it has been for all of us over the past 2 years. We have faced unprecedented uncertainty and difficult disruptions that have changed how we live, work, and study. Even though, we had anticipated and hoped for a better situation, this past November 2021, but the new variant of COVID-19 – Omicron, has become a growing concern around the world, and is increasingly worrying for us in Bangladesh as well. Even though 100% of AIUB Employees (Faculty member, Official and Support Staff) are fully vaccinated, but already around 12% of them are currently infected by COVID-19. Moreover, unfortunately, so far only about 57% of our student body has been able to get fully vaccinated so far, leaving a majority of students still awaiting their dosage.
These current circumstances have rendered the future unforeseeable, yet again, diminishing our hope of re-opening the campus premises to the students from the Spring 2021-22. The Ministry of Education has also expressed their apprehensions recently and have advised educational institutes to be careful about on-campus classes at present. As such, the shift back to campus for the Spring 2021-22 semester must be reevaluated.
Every AIUBian should feel proud of the fact that never in the history of AIUB, the Academic Calendar was hampered. No matter whatever form of disruption we had to face, even as unprecedented as COVID-19 pandemic, we have managed to get back to our on-time schedule. So, rest assured, whether online or on-campus, the Spring 2021-22 semester will commence with all our students.
The health and safety of all our students, faculties, officials, and their families are our utmost priority, but we are working relentlessly to ensure the educational continuity in the long run. Hence, classes of Spring 2021-22 semester will begin in the online MS Teams platform from 23 January 2022 for regular students (including Masters Program Freshman students) and from 30 January 2022 for newly enrolled Undergraduate Freshman students. We are hoping that the situation will improve by mid or end of February, and it will be in-favor of on-campus face-to-face classes. We will be returning to campus by then with necessary measures and preparations, maintaining all the health and safety protocols.
Hence, all students are again advised to stay updated through the AIUB website for all the latest information in the matter. Meanwhile, I encourage all our students to register for their vaccine dosage as soon as possible, if you have not already done so. We are pursuing the University Grants Commission (UGC) to the best of our abilities on a regular basis, to facilitate the student vaccination process as quickly as possible and are hopeful that the procedure will be expedited.
Thank you once again for your understanding and cooperation. Take care and stay safe!
With best wishes,
Dr. Carmen Z Lamagna
Vice Chancellor
American International University – Bangladesh (AIUB)
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