Iowa State University President Wendy Wintersteen sent an email Monday with updates regarding the COVID-19 pandemic.

In her email, Wintersteen announced that all study abroad courses have been canceled.

“We have decided to cancel all study abroad courses that start before Aug. 15, 2020, as a result of the ongoing global uncertainty,” Wintersteen said in the email. “Academic colleges will follow up with impacted students regarding these trips in the coming days.”

The email also announced that full summer courses and summer session one, which begins May 18, will be offered through virtual instruction only. The email said a decision on summer session two, which begins June 15, will be made later in the spring.

Wintersteen also highlighted the new pass/not pass policy in her email. 

The email said a temporary pass/not pass policy was implemented effective immediately by the provost for the remainder of the spring semester for undergraduate courses impacted by the transition to virtual instruction.

“I appreciate the collaboration of our faculty and academic leaders to implement this policy to provide flexibility under these extraordinary circumstances,” Wintersteen said in the email. “The Graduate College is currently leading discussions to develop an analogous policy for graduate instruction.”

Wintersteen also encouraged those who are able to make blood donations.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the need for blood donations,” Wintersteen said in the email. “Blood centers are taking precautions to support social distancing by requiring appointments, no walk-ins. If you are not self-isolating as a result of possible infection or travel, and you otherwise meet the eligibility requirements to donate blood, please consider contacting LifeServe Blood Center to make an appointment to donate.” 

Other parts of Wintersteen’s email included an employee survey and a new wellness campaign.

Later this week a survey will be sent to faculty and staff so the university can get a sense of how the Iowa State community is coping during this challenging time.

“We want to gather information about your working environment – whether you’re working from home or on campus – to understand how we can better support you, how we can strengthen our response and communication efforts, and what emerging issues we need to address,” Wintersteen said in the email.

As for the wellness campaign, Student Health and Wellness, ISU Wellbeing and Adventure2 have teamed up to launch a new wellness campaign to help people prioritize health and wellbeing during this time. To develop an action plan to stay connected, stay informed and be well, visit the campaign website.

“It is so important that you prioritize your health and wellbeing during this time that we must remain physically distant from each other,” Wintersteen said in the email.