Dear ACG Students,
The magnitude of the global crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus concerns all of us as we learn to live with new challenges daily. The American College of Greece, since the outbreak in February of the epidemic in Europe, reacted immediately and with a great sense of responsibility in order to safeguard the health of its members and especially of its students. The frame of this reaction included immediate compliance to the guidelines of the Greek Authorities, constant communication, and preparation in order to continue delivering academic knowledge in an online environment. The transition certainly has not been an easy one, but everyone, faculty, staff and students have worked to meet the high standards set by the American College of Greece. As we move forward, a set of Q & As has been created to address the completion of the Spring semester and the upcoming Summer Session and Summer Term courses.
Academic Questions –Deree Undergraduate Courses
Given the Greek government’s recent announcement that schools will remain closed until after the Easter Holiday, all Deree undergraduate classes will continue to be offered through Blackboard and other digital media until April 10, the end of the spring semester.
Certain courses will be taught in an asynchronous mode and others in synchronous. The distinction between the two depends on the nature of the course and the presence of study abroad students in the class who are now in a different time zones as they have left Greece. Faculty members will also have online office hours for their classes.
Faculty has been asked not to overload students with assignments for the purpose of attendance. However, students must show they are present and engaged with the material by completing assignments or asking questions.
At this point, the Spring Semester courses are not expected to be extended. If the normal classroom activities are allowed after Easter, final exam week will take place a week later than planned, from May 4-12. An announcement regarding final exams will be forthcoming. Study Abroad and degree-seeking international students who have returned home will NOT have to be back in Greece to take their final exams.
Summer 2020 Registration will begin on schedule on April 1. If prior to the start of Summer Session I/Summer Term (on May 21) the Greek government continues to implement measures that restrict the College’s ability to operate normally, we will adjust accordingly and move part or all of the teaching online. We are already seeking the permission of our accrediting/validating organizations to do so.
Academic advising for summer classes can be done via phone or Skype; for an appointment, please call 210-6009800 extensions 1431, 1438, 1339, 1337 or send an email either to [email protected] or to [email protected].
If you need to submit any petitions to CASP or for other information, please contact the Student Success Center at [email protected].
Academic Questions-Alba courses
From March 26th, all courses continue online (Zoom platform) as scheduled, applying the same rules and regulations as before. Courses will resume to in-class (face to face) when it is feasible. Students are invited to communicate with the respective Program officers for all questions concerning their studies.
Financial Questions
Following the common practice of colleges and universities reflecting the fact that this transition was due to unforeseeable circumstances, compelled by external authorities and occurred during the academic term, the College is not giving a tuition discount for the spring semester. Also following the common practice of other colleges and universities, we are providing rebates to residential students who needed to leave College residences to account for the institutional services not provided.
- Students who have no financial balance may register for summer sessions without a deposit.
- Students with an outstanding balance under 1,000 euros may register for summer courses.
- Students with balances over 1,000 euros may register, based on demonstrating proven need through the Office of Retention in order to establish an appropriate payment plan that will open your account. Our staff will also inform you of the Financial Assistance options that are available.
You may contact for assistance:
The Office of Retention:
phone: 694-880-9400, email: [email protected], Skype: hdask_4
phone: 693-696-5563, [email protected], Skype: egeorgouli-zefki
Student Accounts: 210 600-9800 ext. 1109 email: cashier@acg.edu
Yes; you can communicate with the office of Financial Assistance and apply on-line for additional support. In hardship cases, we encourage students to apply for emergency financial assistance. ACG is the largest provider of student financial aid in Greece and will do all we can in this time of need to assist our students and families.
Please contact the Office of Financial Assistance:
210 600-9800 ext. 1327, 1305, 1304, email: [email protected] for detailed information.
JSB Library
As we transition to remote teaching and learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, John S. Bailey Library continues to support students, faculty and staff in every possible way.
- We have expanded our remote services to facilitate access to resources from off-campus.
- We have secured access from a number of vendors and publishers to various collections and other material they are providing free of charge (JSTOR, MIT, Project Muse, ProQuest, Taylor & Francis, etc), and we have temporarily included new collections (ScienceDirect Textbooks, MIT Press eBooks, ProQuest One Literature and more) as part of our resources. Please note that these resources are not available via Discovery, as they will only be offered temporarily.
- Especially for faculty we have collected some useful resources on moving teaching and learning online.
- Finally, we have put together a collection of resources on COVID-19 from medical and academic publishers.
All these resources and services are available through this new guide: Library Support for Remote Teaching & Learning During COVID-19 Crisis, which is accessible via the library homepage.
If you have any questions or need assistance, please contact us via email at [email protected] or by phone at (0030)210 600 9800 ext. 1348.
Other Questions
The new graduation documents submission date for Spring 2020 is May 28th. In the meantime, the Registrar's Office is looking into ways to convert the existing process into a paperless one. More to be announced soon.
At this point in time, it is too early to confirm with certainty that they will take place as scheduled, however as these are time honored events that celebrate the accomplishments of our students, we will work toward holding these ceremonies, if not in June, at an appropriate time in the near future.
Support Services
Yes, SASS is open and is offering academic support through sessions on MS Teams. Appointments can be made by sending an email to: [email protected] with all the specifics: Student name, email, course for which assistance is requested, preferable days/times. In addition, SASS provides quick guidelines for specific courses. Go to DC Student Services blackboard under the Student Academic Support Services Content Area in the "Guidelines for Courses" folder
Yes. ACG Counseling Center services offers Skype counseling sessions to ACG community members (students, faculty and staff) irrespective of whether they are receiving counseling services in the Counseling Center. Counselors are graduate students in training under the direct supervision of experienced clinical faculty members. Individuals who are interested may contact the ACG Counselling Center either through e-mail (counseli[email protected]) or via phone (210 6009800 ext. 1080) to arrange sessions.
The ACG Health & Wellness Center is closed, however if you have any questions please address them to [email protected] and we will get back to you.
Visit Wellness@Deree on facebook and ACG Health & Wellness Center on blackboard and the website for articles and videos on health and wellness related to taking care of yourself and loved ones during this difficult period of self-isolation.
Athletics
The Office of Athletics and our athletic facilities are closed, but you may email us at athletics@acg.edu, and we will be happy to answer any question you may have!
Our fitness specialists created a series of circuit training videos for beginner-intermediate-advanced level in order to help you stay active at home!
Visit our Facebook and Instagram pages and YouTube channel Deree Griffins for the fitness videos, related material, and information!
#DereeGriffins_StayActiveAtHome
This is for the corresponding sport federations to decide.
After their decision - and if they decide to continue - we will evaluate the situation and proceed accordingly, having always in mind that our top priority is the safety of our student-athletes.
Physical condition, and class and exam schedules will be considered with our coaches and student-athletes prior to our decision.