Dear Faculty and Staff:

I want to share with you important news that we communicated to ALC students and parents earlier this evening.

As you know, the COVID-19 Pandemic is an extremely fluid situation and is changing on an hourly basis. While we are very grateful that there are no confirmed COVID-19 cases in Mauritius, there has been a rapid acceleration over the past 24 hours in the adoption of restrictive travel and quarantine policies in several countries across Africa, including Kenya, Senegal, South Africa and Ghana (to name a few).

The anxiety and concern this situation is causing many of you has not been lost on me. As an international residential university with students, faculty and staff from dozens of countries across Africa and around the world, ALC is in a unique situation. Based on the increasing potential of COVID-19’s migration to more countries around the world and Africa, including Mauritius, we are taking the preemptive measure to immediately activate our Business Continuity Plan. A centerpiece of this plan calls for the transition of in-person classes to online learning to ensure that our students’ studies are not disrupted.

While the work of the university will continue, the activation of our remote learning plan and rapidly diminishing travel options on the continent necessitate that students return to their home countries to finish this term’s studies — slightly ahead of the scheduled early May end of term. As a result, we will be closing student residences for the remainder of the term effective this Wednesday, March 18th, at 5 p.m. To facilitate our move to online learning as expeditiously as possible, we are assisting in securing flights for our students to their home nations. It is our intention to have every international student booked on a flight home by Wednesday evening.

What does this transition to our online learning plan mean for you?

Beginning Thursday, you have the option of working on campus or remotely. We also recognize that some of you may be more comfortable returning to your own homelands or working from somewhere other than Mauritius. We understand and are supportive of wherever you decide to work. However, it’s critical that you communicate your plans to your manager, and note that all of our work expectations continue as usual.

We know that access to reliable WiFI from home is challenging for many of you, so while our remote learning protool remains in effect, a $30 stipend will be added to all faculty and staff monthly pay deposits to enable your ability to work from home.

This was not an easy choice, but given the rapid escalation of the global COVID-19 crisis, this is the prudent decision. In light of the updates overnight, it was clear the window of opportunity for us to act was quickly narrowing. With the term drawing to a close in a few weeks, we are hopeful that we will be able to return to the normal in-person class environment we all prefer next term.

Our commitment to the health and wellness of the entire ALC community is and always will be our top priority. We will never jeopardize this and today’s decision exemplifies this.

Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

Christopher O.H. Williams

President, African Leadership University