Message from the University

The U.S. State Department announced a Level 4 travel advisory recommending U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19. In addition, the travel advisory suggests that United States citizens who are living overseas arrange for return to the United States. We have confirmed directly with the U.S. State Department that U.S. citizens (and legal permanent residents) will continue to be able to enter the country. 

We strongly encourage you and your student to consider the risk of traveling and the risks based on current conditions at your student’s potential destination during the rapidly evolving public health situation, especially in many of the U.S. cities.  Throughout the globe, healthcare systems and resources are strained while managing the volume of COVID-19 cases. Please be aware that state restrictions are accelerating swiftly in the U.S. and many are instituting “shelter in place” policies.

Adtalem (the parent company of RUSM) is partnering with island nation governments, airlines and other resources to ensure that there will be at least one outbound flight with available seats from Barbados to one designated U.S. city with access to a major Canadian city available for our community every week for the remainder of the semester.  

The health, safety, and well-being of your student is our top priority.  

Our campus will remain open and in operation in accordance with the CDC guidelines and any island government requests. We have proactively stocked supplies and resources in order to ensure that we will be able to continue to follow CDC guidelines and provide the resources your student may need should they wish to remain on island. We will continue to provide services and support to our RUSM community while your student is in their Barbados home. We have shifted classes to online in a virtual, interactive learning environment. We are successfully delivering all lectures in an online format, while also reducing the uncertainty and risk of travel. 

The RUSM community is participating in social distancing measures. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and prevention advises that keeping a distance of six feet (two meters) is a critical component to reduce potential exposure and mitigate the risk of community spread. This means limiting group gatherings, avoiding confinement in small spaces, and avoiding physical contact during interactions, such as greetings. 

While the Barbados campus remains open, with basic services available, we strongly advise students to limit their time on campus whenever possible.  As the situation evolves, we will continue to evaluate our policies regarding campus operations, services, and access to spaces on an ongoing basis. 

In accordance with guidelines released by the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) and the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), we have made the decision to discontinue sending RUSM students to clinical sites effective March 18, 2020 through March 31, 2020, or until further notice. All clinical students have moved to online education as of Monday, March 23. 

We are thrilled to have your student join our RUSM family and start their journey to become a physician!  We are dedicated to providing your student with a high-quality learning environment that prepares them to become a member and leader of the worldwide public and professional healthcare team. As the global public health situation of COVID-19 continues to evolve, our main priority is the health and safety of our students, our colleagues, and our community.  U.S. and Canadian travel advisories remain in place and we urge you and your student to do as we have at RUSM in adopting CDC guidelines.  With this in mind, we want to share some changes to the May start for our MD program. 

For the summer 2020 semester, we have shifted classes to remote delivery in a virtual, interactive learning environment with an anticipated shift to campus around mid-semester. While this does delay your student’s move to campus, we are committed to helping your student successfully transition to life in Barbados once they arrive.  We will continue to keep your student informed on timelines as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve. 

As with many universities, we shifted to online education for the remainder of the January semester. RUSM is part of a global university system that has a history of successful online education. We are successfully delivering medical sciences coursework in an online format and we are prepared to deliver your student a similar first-class virtual learning experience, while also reducing the uncertainty and risk of travel. We believe this decision will allow us to provide high quality education while also keeping our entire community safe. 

Now that your student is settling into new routines, we know there are questions on the delivery of the upcoming summer semester. We remain committed to providing as little disruption to coursework as possible. As the global public health situation continues, we have created a plan that provides academic continuity until your student can return to campus. 

For the summer semester, medical sciences classes will continue to be delivered remotely beginning May 11, 2020. When it is determined safe and appropriate to do so, we will plan to resume in-person instruction on campus, while continuing remote course delivery, around mid-semester. 

• We will continue to monitor the global situation and will provide a final decision in May as to whether we plan to shift medical sciences classes back to campus mid-semester. 

• If we decide to return to campus mid-semester, we will designate a month-long period for you to move back to Barbados. During this time, we will continue delivering course activities virtually while welcoming students back to campus. Our goal is to accommodate a range of travel plans for individual situations and provide a window of time for students to move back to the island while keeping up with their coursework. 

• By the fall 2020 term, we expect to return all medical sciences courses back to Barbados, with classes scheduled to begin on Monday, September 7. 

We are thrilled to have your student join our RUSM family and start their journey to become a physician. As the global public health situation of COVID-19 continues to evolve, our main priority is the health and safety of our students, our colleagues and our community. U.S. and Canadian travel advisories remain in place and we urge you and your student to do as we have at RUSM in adopting CDC guidelines. With this in mind, we are shifting MERP to virtual delivery for the April students beginning Monday, April 6.  
 
As with many other universities, we shifted to online education for the remainder of the current January semester. RUSM is a part of a global university system that has a history of successful online education. We are successfully delivering medical sciences coursework in an online format and we are prepared to deliver your student a similar first-class virtual learning experience, while also reducing the uncertainty and risk of travel. We believe this decision will allow us to provide high quality education while also keeping our entire community safe. We will continue to keep your student informed on timelines as the COVID-19 situation continues to evolve. 

We have come to the point in our students’ medical training where their perseverance deserves to be celebrated. Unfortunately, that celebration will need to look different this year. As the global public health situation continues to evolve, our main priority is the health and safety of our students and their families, our colleagues, and our community. With this in mind, Ross University School of Medicine has determined it is critical to cancel the May commencement ceremony. While your student’s hard work deserves to be commemorated, we won’t be able to come together in person in May. The circumstances of this global health crisis mean we, as medical practitioners, need to lead by example in modeling social distancing and putting community safety first.  

Please know, this in no way lessens the importance of your graduate’s accomplishment, and if anything, further demonstrates the critical need for exceptional healthcare professionals. We applaud your graduate for their perseverance and dedication to reaching this milestone in their medical training. We will reach out to graduates with an update on how we plan to celebrate at a later date, and rest assured, we will celebrate!