Dear RHU Family and Friends,

I hope that this message finds you all healthy and safe. With a lot going on in our community and country, it is difficult to remain focused on what matters most. However, despite all the challenges, we have tried during the last period to plan a safe return for our RHU Family to campus, keeping the value of RHU’s rich university experience and the safety of our community well-balanced.

Safe Resumption of Classes: Fall 2020

Welcoming you back with Integrity and Novelty

Today’s message provides important update of those plans. In fact, during the last period RHU has been planning a flexible return home for fall 2020, well-designed to protect the campus community, deliver novel learning approaches, and ensure our students’ ongoing success. Next fall will sure not feel like a typical RHU semester, but compromises need to be made to keep our family safe in those extraordinary times.

Protect the RHU Family

To protect the RHU family, we will be adopting safety protocols as recommended by RHU Coronavirus (Covid-19) Safety Committee (RHU-CSC). The Committee will be running continuous public health assessment and monitoring data and directives of the Ministry of Public Health to be able to handle any changing conditions.

Even though the RHU campus is one of the most beautiful and healthy in Lebanon, stretching over an ample 54,000 m2 area that is highly conducive to learning within physical distancing conditions, we are still obliged to limit the number of people present on campus during the fall semester. This is a must to ensure the safety of everybody, our students, faculty and staff, through greater physical distancing in classes and on campus facilities and through implementing safety protocols and procedures at all times.

Deliver Novel Learning Approaches

As mentioned, one key element of our plan is flexibility for students, faculty, and staff who have concerns about fully returning to campus this fall. For this reason, we will be adopting a hybrid approach to course delivery during Fall 2020.

Hybrid approach combines face-to-face classroom instruction with high-tech online activities. It results in minimal seat time and transfers part of the course delivery online. Students’ attendance will rotate whereby half of the students will be in the classroom and the other half will be online, while switching turns for the next course session. Hybrid approach will allow us to ensure greater physical distancing in classes.

Moreover, we would be prioritizing on-campus presence for experiential/hands-on learning activities—such as labs, studios, etc.

Ensure RHU Students’ Ongoing Success

RHU has made bold decisions to promote student success for 2020-2021, to include no tuition increase for fall and spring semesters, assuring excellence in education and enriching teaching in a variety of formats.

Knowing that the RHU experience is more than instruction and academics, RHU will be planning a phased rescheduling of campus and learning activities that constitute an integral part of RHU’s rich university experience.

Student academic services including advising, tutoring, counseling, and career services will continue to be provided on campus. Still, the RHU library, learning centers, computer labs (for students who need access to computers and internet), student lounges, courts, gymnasium, and theatre will be open, while adopting physical distancing protocols at all times. The RHU cafeteria will also open ensuring that healthy food can be safely enjoyed. As for the dormitories, they will be gradually running to full capacity while giving priority to those students who require them the most. Healthcare services will be given around the clock in the University Medical Clinic.

RHU will be closely monitoring the developing situation in Lebanon and around the world and will keep you fully updated of any necessity to further modify of our plans.

We’re in this as a Family

One last thing I would like to address is that we’re in this as a family. No matter the many ways in which COVID-19 has upset our lives and our university, we have responded as one determined, graceful, and proud family. This year was full of many rough times, discouragements and resentments, yet we succeeded in emerging stronger.

Despite all difficulties, awards and innovations in all programs continued to be reaped and realized by RHU students and alumni. This sure narrates the greatest success story for RHU.

The resumption of classes will be our next great challenge, but with resolution, responsibility and consideration for the protection of one another, we can succeed as one big Family. For while the world is changing, something never changes, our mission to provide Excellence and our commitment to make it Accessible to everyone is steadfast. I am confident we will succeed together.

Until we meet again on campus, Stay Safe!

Best regards,

Professor Makram Suidan

President