Information from Fontys about Coronavirus approach: No education in Fontys buildings

We can imagine that the recent developments concerning the spread of the new corona virus (COVID-19) also concern the minds within your organization. Due to the cooperative relationship that your organization has with Fontys, we use this message to inform you about the approach and the way in which Fontys prepares itself for various scenarios.

Within Fontys, the central crisis team and the local crisis teams have been activated in accordance with the crisis structure. In its approach, Fontys follows the recommendations of the RIVM, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. We continuously monitor developments at home and abroad and we maintain close contact with GGDs in the regions where Fontys locations are, with other colleges and with relevant authorities.

A website has been set up for our students and staff on which we regularly post updates and adjust the Q&A to what we know: www.fontys.edu/corona for international students and staff.

UPDATE: In a letter that Minister Bruins of 'Volksgezondheid, Welzijn en Sport' sent to the Tweede Kamer he calls on higher education in the Netherlands to offer only distance education until the end of the month (March 31th). For Fontys this means that with immediate effect - from Friday March 13th - we will not provide education (and exams) at our locations. However, the Fontys buildings will still be open for employees on Friday. Students can pick up their necessary belongings.

For Fontys, the study progress of our students comes first. We will do our best to come up with alternatives in order to ensure that students are inconvenienced as little as possible by this measure.

At this moment, however, we cannot oversee all the consequences of this decision. Friday afternoon, March 13th, we will discuss the details and consequences of this measure against the spread of the coronavirus in the Netherlands in a next update.

See: fontys.edu/corona