The ISEP crisis response team, which includes the Health & Safety Taskforce and all members of the executive team, has met daily to respond to COVID-19 developments. Our objective is to make reasonable, fact-based decisions in the best interest of all ISEP students and our international community of member institutions.
After careful consideration and review of current health guidance and the joint statement from the Forum and Pulse, we can confirm that we will continue all spring 2020 ISEP programs, except those in South Korea and China. We have also suspended on-site activities in Italy. Currently, all other spring 2020 ISEP programs are operating normally, and our member institutions are providing high-quality instruction and support for ISEP students abroad. Additionally, we are proceeding as scheduled with all our summer and fall programs. The health and safety of ISEP students remains our number one priority, and we will continue to monitor and evaluate the safety of our programs and provide additional program updates should the situation change.
We know that it is difficult to make decisions in times of uncertainty, and our member institutions and their leadership may make different decisions than we do. We understand university policies may require students to cease their semester abroad. We respect this and will assist in coordinating the withdrawal of students from their ISEP programs if required. Our withdrawal policies remain in place for all continuing programs.
We look forward to our continued partnership with our members, supporting our students abroad this semester, and welcoming future ISEP students on our upcoming programs.