March 9, 2020 at 4:40 p.m. CDT

Dear Texas A&M University Community:

As we continue to monitor coronavirus developments, please read the following updates:

International Travel: Texas A&M is canceling university-sponsored travel outside of the United States between March 16, 2020 – May 1, 2020. Students, faculty and staff currently traveling abroad may continue to follow the same guidelines issued on March 6 which are noted below. Given the fluid nature of the situation, the university will make decisions about travel beyond May 1 in the weeks to come.

Any mission-critical or health-critical exceptions must be approved in advance by senior administrators. Additionally, the university strongly encourages faculty, staff and students to refrain from all international travel during this time.

All faculty, staff and students currently on international travel are subject to guidelines issued on March 6 which advise anyone returning from COVID-19 Level 1, 2 or 3 areas to self-isolate for 14 days before returning to campus. The reporting portal remains intact for students, faculty and staff currently on travel to, through or from any location that has been designated as Level 1, 2, or 3 by the CDC for COVID-19.

No cases to date: There have been no cases of coronavirus reported at Texas A&M and no students who are presenting any symptoms, including those few individuals who returned from CDC Level 2 and 3 countries.

Classes: Classes at Texas A&M will resume as scheduled on March 16. For the few students required to be in self-isolation, faculty are encouraged to assist them with virtual or online options to accommodate their ability to keep pace with the class.

Events: As you may have heard, South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin – an event with a large number of international participants – was canceled. Other events with more local or Texas participants remain scheduled. We recommend that university event planners consider the international participant composition and high-risk participants in determining whether to proceed with an event at this time.

It is important to note that this situation is evolving and we will continue to review and post to this central site. Please continue to check the site for updates.

Carol A. Fierke

Texas A&M University Provost and Executive Vice President