A University of California, San Diego, committee today recommended a “wait and see� approach toward any policy involving students from SARS-affected Asian regions who have enrolled in summer session and Extension classes.

The action means no change in status for these enrollees.

Steve Benedict, director of Environment, Health and Safety and committee chair, said UCSD’s first concern is the health of the general San Diego community and the campus itself, and any future policy regarding summer attendees from the affected areas will take this into consideration.

Benedict noted that UC Berkeley had to make a decision regarding summer enrollees from the SARS areas because its classes, based on a semester system, begin in May, while UCSD and other UC campuses are on a quarter system and their classes start in late June.

Peter Thomas, director of international programs, UCSD Extension, said only about 35 students from the SARS-affected regions have enrolled, and all of these are from Taiwan. Of these, 15 individual students have enrolled in Extension’s English Language Program and about 20 have signed up for a variety of summer session classes, Thomas said, out of a total 1,400 summer school enrollees.


No students were enrolled at UCSD from the other three SARS affected regions—Mainland China, Hong Kong and Singapore-- designated by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) “for postponement of all non-essential travel.�


Benedict said UCSD will work in concert with other UC campuses in regard to its policy.