We will provide regular updates on this page related to our response to COVID-19. If you have any questions, please contact Jon Terry via email or phone or Brian Keas via email. You can also call our main number at 231-587-8686 for a recording that lists additional staff contact information. All students currently enrolled in a course for this summer, feel free to contact Shirley Shane via email.
Biblical teaching (and life experience) instructs us that God does not spare us experience of trials, but is present with us in them, perfecting our faith and enlarging our ability to serve. Confident that this is the case in present circumstances, we are directing our energies at Au Sable away from anxiety and toward preparation in love for others in the months ahead.
UPDATE: June 8, 2020, 10:00am
Au Sable Announces Cancellation of Great Lakes Summer Session II
After investigating and evaluating current and expected conditions carefully, Au Sable will not be able to offer on-campus courses at our Great Lakes campus without some unacceptable risks to student health and welfare in the context of living in the on-campus Au Sable community. For this reason, on-campus programs for Summer Session II are cancelled. We are offering three additional online course offerings this summer in place of the courses we were planning to offer on campus. These courses are:
Summer Session II: July 13-August 14
International Development and Environmental Sustainability (4 credits, US $1,900 tuition - no site fees)
Environmental Change and Infectious Disease (3 credits, US $1,425 tuition - no site fees)
Environmental Applications for GIS (4 credits, US $1,900 - no site fees)
Students from a Sustaining Partner school will still receive an automatic partner grant of $500, but other financial aid will not be available. We have chosen to lower the tuition in an attempt to make these courses available to all students who wish to enroll. Au Sable alumni who qualify will also be awarded automatic grants. Contact Shirley Shane or Brian Keas to enroll.
UPDATE: May 12, 2020, 10:00am
Au Sable Announces Cancellation of Great Lakes Summer Session I and Pacific Rim Session of College Classes for Summer 2020
With the expectation that some form of work from home restrictions, social distancing, business operation restrictions, and prescriptions for quarantine and isolation will remain in force through at least mid-summer in the states of Michigan and Washington, Au Sable today formally announces the cancellation of its program of classes planned for Great Lakes Summer Session I (Michigan) and Pacific Rim Session (Washington).
As Executive Director Dr. Fred Van Dyke explained, “At Au Sable, we are committed to protecting the health, welfare and safety of every student that comes to study with us, and students arrive from all over North America and the world to take our courses. Likewise, we are also committed to be at all times in compliance with federal and state regulations and guidelines, special Executive Orders by state governors, and recommendations and prescriptions of health departments, agencies, and medical professionals. After careful review of the circumstances and trajectory of regulations in both Michigan and Washington, and consultation with many well informed individuals, I do not believe we can effectively protect the health and safety of Au Sable students on these campuses during these periods as fully as possible, nor achieve full compliance with regulations and recommendations prescribed for those purposes if a session were in operation. Therefore I am officially canceling both sessions at this time.”
With these cancellations, Au Sable does, for the first time in its history, enter the world of online learning with five online courses. Environmental Law and Policy will be offered online from May 18 through June 5, with registration open through May 15 or until the course is full. Field Techniques in Wetlands and Land Resources, normally field intensive courses taught on the Great Lakes Campus during Summer Session I, will be offered online during that period from June 8 to July 10. One PacRim course, International Development and Environmental Sustainability, will be offered during Summer Session II (July 13 – August 14), as well as a new, never-before-offered course, Environmental Change and Infectious Disease.
Although the Institute realizes that the cancellation of courses in these sessions will be a disappointment to the many students planning to attend, it is hoped that these online offerings can in a small way provide some measure of fulfillment for both student expectations and their degree requirements at the 50 colleges and universities that depend on Au Sable for delivery of exceptional place-based, field-intensive courses rooted in the biblical foundations, purposes, and mission of creation care. That mission has not changed, and Au Sable remains committed to inspire and educate people to serve, protect, and restore God’s Earth. Restoration still happens here.
UPDATE: April 16, 2020, 12:00pm
As we continue through the landscape of COVID-19, we remain committed to our mission to inspire and educate people to serve, protect, and restore God’s Earth, and committed to you as member of our community to provide encouragement and hope in these uncertain times. Here are things we’d want you to know about this week.
Status of Sessions
Consistent with regulations and guidelines of the Federal Government and the State of Michigan, we have cancelled all Au Sable courses and sessions scheduled to begin in May (India, Costa Rica, Chicago, and Great Lakes). We will keep our word given earlier of providing public notice of the status for Great Lakes Summer Session I (Michigan), Great Lakes Summer Session II (Michigan) and PacRim (Washington) courses. Decision dates for these sessions will come in May and June as posted on our website and will be made by or prior to these posted decision dates, informed by the events of the next several weeks.
Alternatives to Cancelled Courses or Sessions
With the cancelation of May Term courses, Au Sable will provide an alternative online offering of its Great Lakes May Term course, Environmental Law and Policy, taught by Rachel Lamb, Flagship Fellow, University of Maryland. The online course will take place during the same time as Great Lakes May Term (May 18-June 5) at $1900 tuition and no site fee. The course will be limited to 20 students, with 12 openings remaining as of this writing.
Enrollment in Environmental Law and Policy online is limited to Au Sable May Term students whose courses were cancelled by Au Sable, students who have not previously enrolled in an Au Sable course, and students currently enrolled in Au Sable courses who are adding Environmental Law and Policy while maintaining enrollment in courses for which they have previously registered.
To register for the online offering of Environmental Law and Policy, go to www.ausable.org/college. If you have previously enrolled in an Au Sable course and would like to enroll in an online course, email Shirley Shane. Au Sable is now in the process of developing additional online offerings of select courses in each of its five-week summer sessions in the event that they cannot be offered in their usual format. Watch for continued updates on which courses may be offered online in these sessions.
UPDATE: April 1, 2020, 12:00pm
Au Sable Costa Rica and Au Sable May Term Great Lakes Cancelled
In keeping with our promise to announce a decision on Au Sable Costa Rica and May Term Great Lakes Sessions by or before April 17, we are letting you know now that these sessions are cancelled. With federal guidelines intended to limit the spread of COVID-19 in place through April 30, including practicing working from home, avoiding large group meetings, and refraining from discretionary travel, we believe that this decision is our right response to compliance with these guidelines and, more importantly, with their intention. We are choosing to make our decision now to reduce any inconvenience to you that our decision might cause. We intend to render decisions on later Au Sable Sessions (Great Lakes Summer I, Great Lakes Summer II, and PacRim) after April 30 when we will be more informed by events in the month ahead and by updated guidelines.
UPDATE: March 18, 2020, 12:00pm
Ongoing Monitoring
We will be monitoring daily updates from the CDC, State of Michigan, local health officials, and guidance from other local authorities, and will fully implement and cooperate with the recommendations they provide.
College Academic Sessions
May Sessions
Great Lakes -- Our first college academic session at the Great Lakes Campus is May Term, scheduled to begin May 18, nine weeks from now. We will continue to monitor recommendations and conditions closely, and determine by April 17 whether to hold this session. If we are able to proceed with this session, we will implement and adhere to strategies designed to limit the spread of infection, including hand hygiene, cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched surfaces, social distancing, management of social space and interactions, and training in rapid response to symptomatic behavior.
Costa Rica – At present, Costa Rica has a low rate of infection, but the Costa Rican government has imposed some travel restrictions through April 12. We will monitor conditions in Costa Rica carefully and decide by April 17 if this session will be held.
Chicago – The Au Sable Chicago Program is cancelled for 2020.
Summer Sessions
Great Lakes – Great Lakes Summer Session I is scheduled to begin in 12 weeks on June 8, with Summer Session II to begin in 17 weeks on July 13. We will make a final decision on Summer I by May 11 and Summer II by June 15, informed by events and conditions transpiring in the intervening period.
PacRim, Whidbey Island, Washington – Au Sable Pac Rim is scheduled to begin on July 6. We will make a decision on PacRim by June 8.
Ongoing Enrollment and Financial Aid
Enrollment and Financial Aid from Au Sable – Apart from all courses in Au Sable Chicago (which are cancelled) and Animal Ecology in Great Lakes Summer Session I (which is full), enrollment in all other courses remains open. We will conduct our third (final) financial aid review immediately after April 1 as stated in the Au Sable Bulletin (page 8). For students desiring or needing courses or financial aid, we stand ready to assist. All previous awards Au Sable has committed to students in its first two rounds of financial aid review will be honored if the session to which the award applies is held. Contact Brian Keas, Director of Educational Development, with any questions on financial aid and awards.
Reimbursement Policy – In the event of session cancellation, students displaced from their course may take any other Great Lakes offering in any active session for one-half regular tuition for one course (50% of $2,850 or $1,425 per course). Any student who chooses not to replace their course from a cancelled session will receive a 100% refund of their $400 tuition deposit. For any invoice paid by any Participating Institution, any charges assigned to students whose courses were cancelled or who themselves became infected with COVID prior to or during their session will be refunded to the Participating Institution.
Policies at Partner Institution - It is likely that many of you reading this are currently at a college or university that has closed in response to COVID-19. At some such institutions, the college or university has issued a policy that all summer programs are also cancelled. If such decisions affect interaction with Au Sable in the coming summer, we ask that you let us know by emailing Brian Keas at brian@ausable.org.
What You Can Do
Prayer – COVID-19 is a new disease. No one has any prior experience in dealing with it. Pray for us that we might listen to and understand what God wants us to do and plan accordingly.
Reassurance – Please know that we are planning to keep commitments that we have made while, at the same time, changing our practices to minimize risk from COVID-19, and making decisions that treat health and safety as our first concern.
Interaction - Let us know how things are with you so that we can pray for you, plan for you, and encourage you in your present circumstances. If you would like to talk or pray with someone, contact Jon Terry at 231-881-6402.