As guests on the CMU campus, we will be following the university's recommendations on how to take preventative measures to protect our community.

We will post updates from the university about the coronavirus to our website as they become availible to us. With the help of the university, we contininue to monitor the situation and will make changes to our schedule as necessary.

March 13, 2020 Update: 

Dear Osher at Carnegie Mellon University Members.

What an unbelievable time this is for us all.  Who would have thought we would ever be in this situation!

Not only have we had to shut down everything but most of the other 122 Osher's across the country have too.  Hour by hour I am receiving messages from our sister organizations as to what they are doing to cope.  As of right now, everyone is in the early stages of trying to figure out how to move forward.  We are in the same boat.

So far we have set up a small task group to determine how we can encourage and support our study leaders to finish their courses with you.  If one of your study leaders are able to do this, you will receive an email from them with instructions.  Please give them a little time to figure this out.

Because some classes will continue, we will not close off any of our remaining winter courses.  On account of this delay, if any refunds are due, they will not be made until the end of April.

We are looking into providing links to “outside” courses and a way for everyone to talk about them.  I expect this to be ready by this time next week or sooner.

We have transitioned most, if not all, of our meetings to Zoom, an online meeting platform.  While it isn’t supper intuitive, it is being figured out and working quite well.  Some of our study leaders have reported that they will try and use Zoom to continue their course.  You as a student will be able to join by accepting the Zoom invitation from the Study Leader.  You can do this either on your computer or by phone. 

The office staff has continued to work on campus, but we are prepared to move home.  With this move our major request is that if you need anything, you send an email and that you don’t call the office.  Please use the osher@cmu.edu email.  This situation is a far cry from the four of us working from one room at the Hunt Library, to three separate offices in Wean Hall, to four at-home offices.  Needless to say these changes are a challenge!

Please check our website and that of CMU for updates.  Listed below is a part of their most recent communication.

Warm regards to each of you,

Lyn Decker / Executive Director

Updated Self-Isolation Requirements:

We expect all students who in the last two weeks have traveled to Seattle, Washington; Santa Clara, California; and New Rochelle, New York, not to return to campus. These three locations were recently declared high-risk areas by the Allegheny County Health Department. Returning from these areas, as well as international countries under Level 3 travel warnings by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, will require you to follow CMU’s self-isolation guidelines. At this time, Level 3 restrictions include China, South Korea, Iran and the CDC recently added Europe to their advisory. We will continue to update our website as more areas are declared high-risk and will necessitate self-isolation.

Frequently Asked Questions:

Q: What will happen to Winter 2020 courses?
A: The Study Leader Support Group Task Group is working with our Study Leaders to offer Winter 2020 courses remotely through Zoom, or other online platforms. Some Study Leaders have already found ways to continue classes. Please keep an eye on your emails for updates about courses as they become availible.

Q: Will I get a refund for the Winter 2020 term?
A: Over the next few weeks, we will be evaluating who is eligible for a refund. If you are eligible for a refund, you will receive an electronic voucher or credit.  Once the voucher is in your account, it can be used to offset future registration, building, or material fees, or you can donate it back to the organization, or you can request a refund check.  Because we don’t know how soon we can get back to school, we are not removing anyone from their winter term classes or making refunds at this time.

Q: Will the Summer 2020 term still happen? What about registration?
A: At this time, we are still planning on having Summer 2020 registration at the end of the month, and still hold the Summer term as planned. We will continue to monitor the situation and will update all members and prospects if this changes.

Q: I'm part of a committee and we had a meeting scheduled. Is the meeting cancelled?
A: We are encouraging meetings to be held remotely via Zoom, conference call, or other online platform.