In Academic Year 2020-2021 NYU Abu Dhabi will be prioritizing our academic and research mission, acting with flexibility in response to uncertainty, accommodating robust health and safety protocols, limiting density on campus, and considering ongoing global travel restrictions, while ensuring this fall will be truly worthwhile for our community members.
Our University is a diverse and vital center of scholarship, with faculty who are leading scholars, artists, researchers, writers, and dedicated teachers. As we implement remote instruction into the fall, our students will receive the outstanding educational experience with a distinctive focus on intercultural understanding and leadership that is the hallmark of NYUAD.
Academics, Safety, and Campus Access
Remote Plus
Health and Safety
Campus Access and Facilities
Remote means teaching, learning, and working from different locations for students, faculty, and staff; Plus indicates our commitment to maintaining important connection.
This year we will prioritize our academic and research mission, respond flexibly to uncertainty, accommodate robust health and safety protocols, limit density on campus, consider ongoing global travel restrictions, and ensure that the year will be truly worthwhile for our community members.
Those who have permission to return to campus are required to complete the NYUAD Daily COVID-19 Symptom Check and a mandatory temperature check will take place upon arrival to campus in the East Garage or in the Welcome Center. Those that live on campus are encouraged to check their temperature daily in their homes. All students, staff, and faculty approved to return to campus are expected to maintain two meters distance at all times, avoid handshaking, and avoid nonessential gatherings of any type (including in break rooms, meeting rooms, and lounges). External guests are not currently permitted on campus.
In order to have a successful semester and Academic Year 2020-21 we must abide by the government-mandated health and safety guidelines in place. The success of our efforts to return to campus will depend on all of us taking mutual responsibility.
We expect all members of the community to model adherence to our health and safety guidelines. If someone is not complying with our safety and health protocols, we encourage you to gently and calmly urge them to act properly — wearing a face mask, maintaining physical distance, and complying with testing and quarantine procedures. This will help ensure the wellbeing of your friends, your peers, your teachers, your students, and your colleagues and to ensure compliance with NYUAD and UAE regulations.
If the person persists in not complying or responds confrontationally, you should not pursue the matter face-to-face. Instead, please report matters of noncompliance to either a member of the Public Safety team or:
Al Hosn is the official UAE app for contact tracing and health testing related to COVID-19 brought to you by the National Emergency Crisis and Disaster Management Authority. The app helps trace people who have been in close proximity to confirmed COVID-19 cases to prevent the spread of the virus. It also provides citizens and residents with access to their test results and a health color-coding system that identifies and allows individuals who are free from COVID-19 to access public spaces.
All members of the NYUAD community — students, faculty, and staff, contractors, and anyone who may be in NYUAD buildings — must wear face coverings that cover the wearer’s mouth and nose.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) does not recommend using masks if they have an exhalation valve or vent. Masks with one-way valves or vents allow exhaled air to be expelled out through holes in the material. This can allow exhaled respiratory droplets to reach others and potentially spread the COVID-19 virus.
The COVID-19 NYUAD Screening Pilot Study is designed to screen our NYUAD community for potential asymptomatic carriers of COVID-19. Members of the NYUAD community who are not showing signs of COVID-19 are asked to participate in this important research project. This project is managed and run by NYUAD and participation is free and completely voluntary.
Al Manara Pharmacy, NYUAD branch is open on campus. It operates Sunday-Thursday 11am to 6pm. Al Manara Pharmacy, Saadiyat branch is open Sunday-Thursday 9am to 11pm and Friday 3pm to 11pm. Free, scheduled shuttles are available into the city and to Yas Island where other pharmacies are located. The pharmacy at the St. Regis does not accept the student health insurance.
All students, staff, and faculty are expected to maintain two meters distance at all times and avoid nonessential gatherings of any type (including break rooms, meetings, and lounges). Groups of more than six people should not gather in any location on campus.
We have robust plans in place for monitoring the risk level to our community and for dealing with confirmed cases. Regular testing will help us to identify cases early and take appropriate action. When needed, we will take the necessary steps to trace, isolate, and test individuals. In some cases this could mean isolating community members on or off campus as required by local health authorities, and implementing testing and monitoring until negative test results are confirmed.
We have developed comprehensive protocols for managing confirmed cases in compliance with the Abu Dhabi Department of Education and Knowledge, the UAE Ministry of Education, the Abu Dhabi Department of Health, and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The protocols are meant to safeguard the health of our community and limit the spread of the coronavirus on our campus, in our wider community, and in the UAE.
In compliance with national and international regulations, members of the NYU Abu Dhabi community (including faculty, staff, students, and family members residing on-campus) returning to reside on campus are required to self-quarantine in their residence for 14 days,
All students arriving to campus from within the UAE or abroad will be required to check-in with Residential Education and then to self-quarantine for 14 days in their assigned room immediately upon their arrival.
In order to protect the health of our community, all staff, faculty, and students approved to return to campus are required to complete the NYUAD COVID-19 Daily Symptom Check each day you plan to work or study on campus. This applies to campus residents who are seeking to work or study from a location other than their residence on campus as well.
NYU Symptom Check is now available on the Safe NYU app for your convenience and ease of use. When you refresh or login on the Safe NYU app, you will see the Symptom Check as an option and be able to track your symptoms easily from your mobile phone.
For those that return to campus or reside on campus, a mandatory temperature check will take place upon arrival to campus in the East Garage or in the Welcome Center, as well as at entrances to buildings. Please note that due to shift changes of the Public Safety officers you might be asked multiple times to show the NYUAD Symptom Check and undergo a temperature check, and we appreciate your understanding and patience.
Testing, tracing, isolating, and monitoring will play a significant role in how we manage NYUAD community health this coming year. To maintain a safe campus, NYUAD will be putting in place robust testing and quarantining policies that comply with UAE regulations, including mandatory testing upon return to campus, followed by interval testing throughout the fall.
In order to keep our community healthy and compliant with federal regulations, all campus residents (students, faculty, staff, and family/household members age 12+) and essential staff and faculty approved to return to campus are required to confirm a negative COVID-19 test AND receive a green notification from the NYUAD COVID-19 Symptom Check before they can access campus. Negative test proof can be in the form of an official SMS, test results (paper or screen shot), or the Al Hosn app. This is required by both the UAE MOE as well as NCEMA.
Community members with questions about COVID-19 symptoms and related topics should contact the NYUAD COVID-19 Response Team at nyuad.crt@nyu.edu. For medical emergencies, please dial 999.
Community members should follow the guidelines to access campus, adhere to Health and Safety guidelines, and observe the Return to Campus wayfinding and signage installed across campus.
Only students approved to stay on campus through the application process will be authorized to live on campus. Every student will be asked to sign an agreement before returning to campus — a commitment to following NYU Abu Dhabi’s policies and protocols and taking appropriate actions to keep one another safe.
Only a limited number of staff deemed essential for student, academic, and operational support will return to campus, with the remainder continuing to work remotely.
By definition, essential on-site individuals hold positions where a return to campus is critical to fulfilling core job responsibilities, including on-campus services that can only be performed by physically being present on campus either full time or periodically.
External guests are not currently permitted on campus.
Requirements for Accessing Campus
Regular Access
What's Required
How Often
1. Complete the Space Request form to request access to an office or specialized lab or studio space.
The Library is committed to providing access to our resources in order to ensure academic continuity for teaching, learning, and research while ensuring the safety and wellbeing of Library staff. The NYU Online Resources guide provides comprehensive information about how to access our online resources. If you need further assistance choosing or accessing a resource, contact nyuad.library@nyu.edu.
Virtual Events
As we continue in our current online and remote instructional model and maintain social distancing in an effort to limit the spread of the coronavirus, NYU Abu Dhabi faculty and staff are putting together a broad range of virtual experiences and events for the community to engage in.
Bookstore
Fall 2020 in-person hours:
Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
9am–5pm
Mailroom
The mail operation will continue as normal. If mail arrives that is essential for maintaining continuity of research, learning, or work, you may come to campus to collect. However, while engaging with the mailroom, all physical distancing and Health and Safety guidance must be observed.
As mail is received, mailroom staff will notify the recipients that they have mail. Mail should be collected from the mailroom between 9am and 5pm.
Athletics / Recreation Spaces
Access to all indoor Athletic and/or Wellness and Fitness spaces is limited to campus residents at this time.
Dining
Student dining is offered in D2 (campus East). Limited seating is available with social distancing in place. A temperature check is required upon entry and masks are to be worn until seated.
Sushi Counter, The Arts Center Café, Torch Club and the mobile trolley: closed
Parking
Entry to the underground parking facility is now via the East Parking entrance only. Access will be granted to residents, essential staff, and those who have approved access to spaces on campus.
Visitors are not currently permitted on campus, including in campus apartments.
In order to keep our community healthy and safe, please continue to practice physical distancing, wear a face mask, and
follow these precautionary measures recommended by the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
Stay home when you are sick.
Avoid close contact with sick people.
Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash.
Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
A global crisis requires a global response. Members of NYU Abu Dhabi’s extensive and far-reaching community have thrown their weight behind addressing the unique challenges COVID-19 has placed on the world. In almost every field, researchers are garnering their resources to initiate unique projects specifically aimed at tackling this pandemic and better understanding the impact it has on our world.
NYU Abu Dhabi's vice-chancellor explains how her institution kept its campus open during the pandemic and what others can learn from this experience in a Times Higher Education op-ed.
Students needing after hours medical advice, including on COVID-19 related questions, should contact the 24-hour provider on-call at 02-628-8100. Students who would like to speak with someone may access 24/7 counseling services through the Wellness Exchange (+971-02-628-5555) or by contacting the NYUAD Health Center (+971-02-628-8100) or nyuad.healthcenter@nyu.edu to schedule an appointment.
Community members with questions about COVID-19 symptoms and related topics should contact the Health Center COVID-19 Response Team at nyuad.crt@nyu.edu. Faculty and staff should contact the Employee Assistance Program by phone at 8000-44-0626 available 24/7 or by email at internationaleap@icasworld.com.
For medical emergencies, please dial 999 and notify Public Safety of Health (DOH) Hotline at 800-1717.
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