2020.04.30

To students and guardians:

   In this current situation, we appreciate that all of you must be experiencing a sense of unease and uncertainty. With the spread of COVID-19 greatly affecting our society, we are facing a state of emergency on a scale that we have never experienced before.

   We would like to offer our heartfelt condolences to the many people both in Japan and overseas who have lost their lives due to COVID-19, and express our sincerest sympathy to all sufferers of the disease. Also, we would like to express our deep respect and gratitude to the many people who have been working hard to meet our medical needs and to support our social lives even in such a situation.

   Although it was an agonizing choice, as everyone is faced with the risk of infection, we have decided to take measures to prohibit entry to our campus, cancel all our face-to-face interaction classes, and provide on-line remote classes instead. In the current situation, where students are not allowed to lead a natural student life of gathering on campus and engaging in study and extracurricular activities together with their friends and faculty members, they may be anxious about many things. Above all, we are very worried about the new students who should have been looking forward to the entrance ceremony and their student lives with so many hopes and dreams, and wondering how they must be spending their days, feeling confused and unable to adjust to their new lifestyle.

   To respond to this situation, Ryukoku University, after having set up the Student Support Plan Examination Working Group, has had numerous deliberations on possible plans to support and aid our students from multiple perspectives. As part of this effort, we conducted an urgent questionnaire　for students. From the results of this questionnaire, their current circumstances were clarified. Every response revealed the severe conditions they are experiencing that we cannot overlook.

   Based on this situation, our corporation, together with Ryukoku University and Ryukoku University Heian Junior & Senior High Schools, will present a number of urgent support measures worth a total of 1.46 billion yen. In addition to our existing measures, such as establishment of the “Financial Assistance Scholarship” system (approximately 400 million yen) and the “Non-repayable Grants” system (approximately 650 million yen), which is associated with the introduction of on-line classes; expansion of the number of target students related to the “Family Finances Emergency” system; and improvement of the learning environment and provision of diverse Student Support, etc. (approximately 410 million yen), which are associated with the implementation of on-line classes, we have decided to further improve and expand our student life support by newly establishing the “Fund.”

   Also, we have started a project to support students’ diets, because students who have left their local areas and are currently living alone in Kyoto or Shiga Prefecture are especially feeling a deep sense of insecurity about their diets, which provides the basis of life.  * For further details, click here.

   According to our students’ actual circumstances, we at Ryukoku University would like to provide all necessary support for students in need of assistance, and to pursue educational activities based on the spirit of “leaving no one behind.” All our university’s faculty members are united in wanting to overcome this crisis in cooperation with all students and their guardians. We would like to express our sincere appreciation for your understanding and cooperation.

We hope all our students can again gather on campus energetically as soon as possible.

■Emergency support measures associated

〇Newly established “Non-repayable Grants” system associated with the introduction of on-line classes

∙ Provide uniform support of 30,000 yen for all students.

∙ Provide financial support through scholarships so that students can create a safe learning environment and take on-line classes securely in accordance with our provision of such classes for courses scheduled to be offered in the first semester (first half-year) in fiscal 2020.

∙ These Non-repayable Grants also cover students of Ryukoku University Heian Junior & Senior High Schools.

〇Expansion and improvement of the short-term loan system

∙ Expand and improve our interest-free “short-term loan system” for students by raising the loan limit to 100,000 yen, and extending the payment period to up to ten months (in normal times, it is 30,000 yen maximum to be returned within three months).

〇Emergency assistance for students’ diets

∙ Secure and provide food ingredients mainly for students who are living alone, in collaboration with relevant suppliers together with related local authorities, such as the Shiga and Kyoto prefectural governments.

〇Provision of new web services to use the Library

∙ Start a new service to deliver books and copies of journals and papers to students by mail after accepting their requests related to the relevant book lending and copy services for journals and papers via the internet. For further details, click here.

〇Creation of an on-line learning environment associated with the provision of on-line classes and other types of student support

∙ Provide necessary student support, such as expansion and improvement of their own information communication environments, improvement of our web content, and offering rental of laptops, etc., all associated with the implementation of our on-line classes.

April 30, 2020

Takashi Irisawa,

President,

Ryukoku University,

Ryukoku University Faculty of Junior College