Dear ACCHS Community,
I hope this message finds you in good health. I urge you all to find solace in knowing that we are a resilient community, capable of overcoming our current circumstances and adversity. Please know that the decisions made at the Academy first take into account the safety of all our constituents.
Our program administrators and staff are working very hard from home and from the office to maintain communications with all our student body. If you have additional questions, please contact your program administrator directly.
This is a time of difficult decisions and rapid change. Please support us as we work to make, what we hope are the best choices given the current information available. Most importantly, please be sure that you are staying safe and keeping with any routine that maximizes the safety and well-being of you and your loved ones. We at the Academy advocate for nation-wide social distancing and isolation measures to help slow the spread of these disease, support our emergency medicine colleagues and mitigate the unavoidable impact this disease is will have in the months to come. We will continue to post updates as they unfold on the https://acchs.edu/covid-19 web page. The only way through is together.
In health and community,
Andres Bella, Acting President
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As of today, March 25, 2020, the Academy campus remains closed. We have been processing as much information as possible from the CDC, Alameda County Public Health Department, neighboring counties, local school districts, and the Governor’s office. We have seen a rise in confirmed cases in our community and noted that the governor has updated the statewide Stay Home order with no set termination date. Local school districts, including BUSD and OUSD, have announced an extension of their closures through May 1.
As you know, registration for the summer term has begun. After meeting with senior administrators, including our deans and directors, we’ve determined opening in-person practical training would be unwise and are in consensus that the duration of the COVID-19 spread (was and resulting impact) will likely extend through at least early summer, if not beyond.
The Academy is reviewing all possible options to maintain a methodology for comprehensive practical clinical training that doesn’t compromise the quality of education, but also are in agreement we will not be able to offer this at the level we’d like through any distance learning formats. For this reason, the Academy will suspend further practical clinical training for the MAcCHM program, possibly for the duration of the summer trimester. We are hopeful that careful resolution of the very serious public health issues surrounding COVID-19 may allow the Academy to begin rolling out an abbreviated schedule of practical clinical training hours for the MAcCHM program by July 1; however, we are cautiously optimistic.
The Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine has issued an emergency waiver for “limited” distance education courses within the practical clinical training portion of the program. This is something that we would incorporate into practical clinical training should the Academy begin offering clinical training hours on July 1. A special registration period would precede the roll-out
The Academy has begun preparations to offer all of its summer DAOM and MAcCHM didactic courses online. This includes hands-on courses. This development may change and migrate to an in-person format should the public health crisis resolve during the summer term. In addition, the Academy is exploring offering additional didactic elective courses during the summer term to aid in learning and augment course loads, particularly for students who depend on full-time financial aid (full-time equals 10 units). Financial aid disbursements will continue as planned for May 1, 2020. We will mail disbursement check to the address on file (please update your address on Empower if necessary).
We at the Academy believe that special online procedures, including streaming demonstrations will support the school’s ability to offer hands-on courses online without sacrificing program quality. Additionally, the Academy plans to offer practical lab/elective intensives in future terms to augment these courses. The Academy’s academic department is composing a survey regarding these issues that will go out to all students later this week. Please remember that the circumstances regarding the COVID-19 issue are continuously changing. We will do everything in our power to reinstitute the practical clinical training portion of our program as soon as circumstance allows – ideally, no later than July 1st – however your safety and the preservation of educational quality are our top priorities.
