【Message from TUFS President】2020 Fall Quarter

August 25, 2020

Dear students,

I hope you are all doing well despite this heat. On July 8, we announced a provisional schedule for the fall quarter. Although the next announcement was scheduled for September 2, we have assumed that there will be no major changes in the situation regarding COVID-19 in the Tokyo area, and so have moved up our announcement on the fall quarter to today. We ask that you read this message carefully and prepare for the upcoming quarter.

1）Infection prevention measures

TUFS is committed to taking the following infection prevention measures.
https://www.tufs.ac.jp/english/NEWS/notice/200807_1.html

2）Online and in-person classes

TUFS will offer a mixture of online and in-person classes in the fall quarter. In-person classes include some of the following: major language classes, GLIP English classes, seminars, graduation seminars, and graduate school classes. All other classes will be conducted online. When planning your schedule, you should first determine the on-campus classes you wish to take, then select online classes considering factors such as your commuting time. Please note, however, that some classes will be offered on-demand, regardless of the day or period.

The following is a list of courses in which some of the classes will be held in-person.

In the event that circumstances in the Tokyo area worsen significantly, we will review the situation and switch from offline classes to online classes.

3）Taking online classes at the university

There may be times when you will have to take online classes at the university depending on your timetable. In this case, please take your classes in the following classrooms. You will have access to a newly installed dedicated line.

Research and Lecture Building
101/102/103/107/108/109/
113/114/115/226/227

You will need to bring your own laptop and a headset to these classes. Tablets and headsets will be available for you to borrow. However, this may not always be the case as numbers are limited. Also, for infection prevention purposes, it is best to avoid sharing equipment.

In addition, the following PC rooms will be accessible for online classes and self-study (excluding some time periods).

PC Rooms
205/206/216/217/AV Library

4）For students who may have difficulty taking in-person classes

It is understandable that some of you may find in-person classes difficult to attend for a variety of reasons. This is especially true if you have an underlying medical condition or an elderly family member. In this case, please follow the instructions on the following page and submit a "Home Enrollment Request Form" by September 4. You may also use this form if you wish to change your GLIP English A classes from offline to online.

https://www.tufs.ac.jp/english/student/NEWS/education/200821_1.html

5）For long-distance commuters

There may be those of you who live in the Tokyo area but have to commute long distances to get to TUFS. If you are interested in moving into the TUFS International Residence No. 3, please access the form below for more details on the application details.

https://www.tufs.ac.jp/english/student/dorm/apart.html

6）Borrowing WiFi routers

Following the spring quarter, we will continue to lend out tablets and WiFi routers to students who face difficulties in attending online classes. The Academic Support Center will be your point of contact regarding this system. We will be contacting you in early September with instructions on how to apply. However, please note that the number of these resources is limited. We kindly ask that you make every effort to improve the network environment where you reside.

E-mail：tufs-zoom-studentssupport[at]tufs.ac.jp

7）Course registration and revision period, and notification of Zoom ID/PW

The course registration and revision periods for the fall quarter have been modified as follows.

  • Course registration period: Thursday, September 17 - Thursday, September 24
  • Course registration revision period: Thursday, October 1 - Wednesday, October 14
  • Registration cancellation period: Thursday, November 12 - Friday, November 13

Unlike in the spring quarter, Zoom class ID/PW, Moodle and Google Classroom class codes will be communicated to you through your personal timetable "Announcements" on the TUFS Information System. Instructions on how to use this system will be provided in due course.

8）Circle activities

The TUFS committee reviewed and inspected the activity plans and infection prevention measures submitted by each circle and has approved the resumption of some extracurricular activities from August 31. I know that many of you are looking forward to this, but I cannot say that we are not concerned. Please follow the "Guidelines for Circle Activities" issued by the university, announcements from the Student Affairs Division, the Sports Clubs Committee and the Cultural Clubs Committee, as well as your circle plans and measures, and put safety first at all times.

9）Use of the Library

In the summer quarter, the library will be open from 10am to 3pm. In the fall quarter, the library will be open from 10am to 5pm and students will be allowed to study during opening hours. For more information, please refer to the library's official website.

10）Please utilize the following consultation services when in need during this pandemic

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The above is the outline for the fall quarter. The Educational Affairs Division and Student Affairs Division will contact you with more details about each of these issues, so please make sure to check your university email, the TUFS Information System, and the university website.

No matter where you are, there is a continuing risk of infection for everyone. It would be a lie to say that we are not anxious for the fall quarter. However, we believe it is necessary to take all possible measures and take the first step into initiating the "new university normal". The upcoming circle activities will be a touchstone for all of us. As a university, we will support your activities as much as possible. However, we sincerely ask that you do not take any actions that could lead to infection. Let's work together to find a way to live with this new virus.

HAYASHI Kayoko
President, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies

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