Date: April 11, 2020
To : THE NYU COMMUNITY
From : Katherine Fleming, Provost; Martin Dorph, Executive Vice President; Dr. Carlo Ciotoli, Assoc. Vice President for Student Health

We hope that as you read this you are safe and well and coping. Every community is susceptible to the reach of COVID-19; the NYU community has been and will surely continue to be touched by the illness for some time. Your well-being is very much in our thoughts. Please remember: if you are a student and you are ill, wherever you are, the dedicated staff of Student Health Center is still there for you, as are the professionals at the Wellness Exchange. And for faculty, staff, and administrators—please check with your primary care physician if you think you have symptoms. If you are anxious or feel you need other wellness support, we encourage you to reach out to Carebridge.

NYU is helping to respond to COVID-19 in many ways. To learn about ideas fostered at NYU that are having an impact on the fight against the coronavirus—from research to innovation to donations—take a look at On the Frontline.

Below are some updates. We will continue to update the NYU community about coronavirus-related developments. We wish you all well.

Academics

Summer Sessions—Remotely Held Classes

Both summer sessions—which begin May 26 and July 6—will be held remotely.

Fall 2020

For fall 2020, our plan is to resume regular, in-person classes on campus. Of course, we are continuing to monitor developments closely.

The Zoom Platform

Recent days have brought reports of privacy and security concerns relating to Zoom, the principal platform that NYU—and many other educational institutions—is using for holding classes remotely. Clay Shirky, Vice Provost for Educational Technologies; Maria C. Suarez, Chief Information Security Office; and Ben Maddox, Chief Instructional Technology Officer, have posted an update about Zoom's use at NYU that contains resources that may be useful to you.

Health Insurance

Student Health Insurance Plan

The Student Health Insurance Plan is waiving all out of pocket expenses for COVID-19 related testing and treatment. Here is the information directly from the WellFleet (our Student Health Insurance Plan carrier) site:

Wellfleet is waiving out-of-pocket costs for all COVID-19 treatment through May 31, 2020. We’ll waive all co-pays, deductibles and co-insurance. Similar to a preventative visit, like your annual physical, you’ll have no out-of-pocket costs for your treatment. This applies to plans underwritten by Wellfleet Insurance carriers.

Employee Health Insurance

Our employee health plans are covering COVID-19 tests at 100% with no employee cost-share. Treatment of COVID-19 is covered and will be paid in accordance with the provisions of the plan in which the employee is enrolled.

Refunds and Emergency Aid

Refunds

The University has completed the process of providing housing refunds for students required to vacate NYU residence halls, as well as meal-related refunds. NYU has also reviewed dozens of individual school- and course-based fees for the purpose of determining potential refunds, which are based on whether or not students received all or part of the services, supplies, or equipment associated with the fee. A list of fees that will be either fully or partially refunded can be found here. Students do not need to do anything to receive these refunds; they will be processed automatically. Students should start receiving these refunds April 15.

Emergency Aid and Grants

In an effort to assist students who have financial need caused by COVID-19, in the last three weeks the University has provided approximately $4 million to some 8,500 students in the form of emergency aid and grants

Residence Halls

Space for Medical Personnel

Dozens of front-line hospital personnel from NYU Langone Health began making use of rooms the University has made available in the Third Ave. North Residence Hall this past week.

In addition, the University has responded to outreach from New York City by offering to make Alumni Hall available for medical personnel from other hospitals at no rent. The City is evaluating the offer.

Summer Housing

Normally our undergraduate housing system houses a mix of NYU students studying here for summer session and other college's students involved in internships. We have determined that will not make housing available in the undergraduate housing system through the end of June. Once the trajectory of COVID-19's spread in the city becomes clearer, we will have further announcements about post-June summer housing options.