Dear students,
I hope you are well and that you, your friends and families are withstanding the impact of COVID 19 on our health and day to day activities. We are looking forward to resuming studies on January 24.
Many of you might be wondering about the impact of COVID on the coming Trimester. I am writing to you to bring you up to date about our plans.
Our first priority is to ensure the health and wellbeing of our own community – students and staff. We have options we can adopt in response to government directives and community concerns about the spread of COVID. We are mindful that the Queensland Chief Health Officer estimates the next four weeks might see a peak in COVID infections.
The first response is to strengthen our on-campus defences against infection. Each room has hand sanitising stations. Wearing masks is compulsory for all activities, except when eating or drinking. We may reduce some class sizes to ensure we maintain safe distancing between each other. We very strongly encourage anyone not already vaccinated to get vaccinated. It is now an entertainment industry standard to the point that performers cannot audition without proof of vaccination. We won't and can’t compel this request, but we ask you to protect yourself and others by vaccinating.
We are evaluating four different types of teaching. We will make decisions about which Contingency to implement guided by The Chief Health Officer’s advice, government regulations and community developments. The options are:
- Business As Usual – we deliver on campus in the current manner plus mandatory masks.
- Contingency A – until the end of February we deliver on campus only those subjects which require face to face interactions, the rest will be delivered online for this timeframe. This response may require that we reschedule parts of each subject so the theory-based components are brought forward for online delivery and the face to face elements are delayed until after February.
- Contingency B – We deliver all our programs online for January & February with no face to face delivery on-campus until after the end of February. Similar to above, we will rearrange the theory and practical parts of the subjects plus adjust the assessment tasks to minimise disruption and disadvantage.
- Contingency C – We can’t return to on-campus delivery and all programs must be delivered online until further notice. This is our least preferred Contingency. Some subjects can’t be delivered fully online. If we need to implement this Contingency then we will consult with each student individually about deferrals, withdrawals, transfers or other options.
At present we will operate on the Business As Usual basis. We believe we have a safe environment and safe practices.
My purpose in writing to you is not to alarm, but to reassure. We are focused on your wellbeing. We have plans which can adjust to any unexpected changes in the pandemic. I am sharing our plans so you know that we have your welfare in mind and that we intend to provide a quality learning experience to the maximum extent that COVID and regulations will allow. Hopefully we don’t need to resort to any of the Contingencies (and hopefully Contingencies B or C are last resort options).
Some of you might want to stay off-campus until the risks reduce. There are options we can discuss. Contact your Head of Department (Sean, Julia N or Julia L) so we can look after you.
If anything changes, we will let you know. If you have questions, please reach out.
Stay well
John
John Martin
CEO
P: +61 7 3229 6929 M: +61 439 953 334
A: Level 5 102 Adelaide Street,
Brisbane. QLD 4000 AUSTRALIA.
john.martin@apac.edu.au | www.apac.edu.au