If you have had a fever, cough or any respiratory illness in the past week, or think you may have been exposed to the Coronavirus (Covid-19) (particularly those who have been traveling), please do not come to campus. Call your physician or hospital immediately to get instructions as to where to get proper care.
Our clinic is open for in person and telemedicine appointments, by appointment only. Masks must be worn at all times. To benefit yourself and everyone at the clinic we remind our patients to regularly wash your hands. Although washing with water and soap for 20 seconds is superior you may also use hand sanitizer when that is not an option.
The ACCHS clinic is not equipped to deal with patients who may have been exposed to the Covid-19
Vaccinations and COVID Tests:
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html
California Department of Public Health
cdph.ca.gov
Alameda County https://covid-19.acgov.org/index.page
their testing recommendations page:
https://covid-19.acgov.org/testing.page
Free testing sites in alameda county:
https://covid-19.acgov.org/testing.page?#Community
Local vaccine info:
https://covid-19.acgov.org/vaccines
Coronavirus & Forbearance Info
for Students, Borrowers & Parents
February 2021 Update
Dear ACCHS Community,
We appreciate you – our extended family of faculty,
students, and staff – who have supported us and each other throughout this long
period of shelter-in-place and online courses. We are very pleased to announce
that the ACCHS administrators and board of directors have agreed to a timeline
for the reopening of our school. Although we have optimistically planned for a
phased reopening, we are committed to the safety of our students, staff, and
faculty. The following plans are subject to change and are contingent on
recommendations from the Alameda County Health Department and the governor’s
office.
At the center of our goal to reopen for in-person learning
is the notion that our teachers and staff be vaccinated against COVID-19. The
CDC has recommended, though not required, vaccines for educators, and we
recognize the value of vaccines as a strong, additional layer of protection for
our staff. Vaccinations will lead to a
more confident reopening and allow us to focus on the final details of a hybrid
learning schedule for our students starting in the summer term.
In addition to vaccines, our reopening goal covers other
important safety practices, such as COVID-19 testing at county testing
facilities, alongside other previous agreements about a safe reopening for
students and staff. These include comprehensive COVID safety protocols, such as
wide use of air filters, additional hand sanitizers, touchless faucets and
towel dispensers, and the use of other PPE, such as face shields, masks, and
gloves.
The following schedule shows the timeline for students to
return to campus in a hybrid model, pending the timing of vaccine completion:
Monday, May 3, 2021 (introduction
of a hybrid teaching model) – the beginning of the summer 2021 trimester would
mark the beginning of the hybrid class model. Practical courses will be broken
into online lecture courses that are accompanied by in-person practical
portions held on campus. In-person courses will limit the number of individuals
per classroom. Lab courses that are associated with past practical courses,
such as Acupoints, will be offered in summer 2021 and fall 2021. Course that do
not contain practical training components will be offered as 100-percent online
courses.
Monday, August 30, 2021 (full,
in-person courses) If the infection rates of Covid-19 continue to decline and
the public health department of Alameda lowers the severity tier for the
county, ACCHS will resume full in-person courses and practical clinical
training. The Academy will continue to enact COVID safety protocols, such as
wide use of air filters, additional hand sanitizers, touchless faucets and
towel dispensers, and the use of other PPE, such as face shields, masks, and
gloves.
In addition, the administrators and board of directors have
decided that ACCHS will move forward with its plans for reopening to full
in-person courses in September 2021, provided the community transmission rate
in the County enters the state’s Orange tier, even if vaccinations have not yet
been completed.
We know that you are anxious to hear the details of the
hybrid model — and we will have more information very soon. We also acknowledge that a hybrid model is
not ideal for anyone right now, and that there is no substitute for full-time,
in-person instruction. However, state and local public health guidance
continues to oblige schools to employ social distancing as one of many risk
mitigation strategies, which reduces our ability to have all students on campus
at once.
In the meantime, while vaccinations are being completed, we anticipate
that some instructors and staff will voluntarily return to campus to offer a
limited number of in-person, small group activities for students who have
needed the most support during distance learning.
There are many people to thank for their tireless efforts.
For now, it will suffice to express our great appreciation to our wonderful
community. Most of all, we thank our
students, who have borne the brunt of this terrible pandemic and whose
resilience and perseverance inspires us all.
Sincerely,
Andres Bella, Acting President
Virtual Townhall, 5/15/2020, Student Help Desk, Library Resources
Below is the recordings for 2nd Student Townhall and the launch of the Student/Faculty Help Desk in Neo LMS, along with an update from the Library.
ACCHS Student Townhall, recorded 5/15/2020 2pm – 4pm.
Topics Include:
- New Student Help Desk (please watch short tutorial video on rt.)
- ACAOM Waiver Extension and Summer Trimester Online
- ACCHS Telemedicine
(click tabs below for detailed information on a each topic)
ACCHS is pleased to announce the launch of the Student and Faculty Help Desk in Neo LMS.
In an effort to facilitate a speedy resolution to Student and Faculty questions, concerns, and issues, ACCHS is launching this new portal meant to be the primary means on the internet for Students and Faculty to communicate directly with ACCHS Admin. Submitting your query here will help ACCHS quickly respond to your request by the person who is best suited to respond.
We are all bogged down in email these days, and many concerns are not getting to the person they need to in a quick time-frame. Our aim with this new tool is to respond to all requests within 24 hours. Once you submit a request, please ensure you are subscribed to the request so that you will be notified when ACCHS administration has responded to you.
Please watch the above brief youtube tutorial video teaching how to use the new Student/Faculty Help Desk in Neo LMS.
–Admin
ACCHS Students Faculty and Staff:
I have put many links up at:
https://opac.libraryworld.com/
I strongly suggest getting an Oakland Public Library card https://oaklandlibrary.
SF public Library has even more databases. https://sflib1.
Questions have came up about textbooks. Many textbooks may not be available electronically. Please let me know if there is something you are looking for and I can search to see if and how much we can obtain of a copy of it. Google Books is a great resource.
Please note that any ACCHS materials that you have out will continued to be renewed until shelter in place is lifted and you will not be charged any late fees.
I am available to help you via zoom and am working on a screencastify video to help you navigate resources. Please also view Library Orientation
I realize that COVID 19 and distance learning can’t replace the ACCHS library, but doing the best that I can. Contact me at bmorris@acchs.edu if i can be of further assistance.
Librarian
MAT, MLIS
ACCHS has created group pages here in Neo LMS to help Students and Faculty.
Students will soon be added to these groups where you will be able to see news, view and create forum posts, read FAQs regarding all things ACCHS.
Campus Update 5/01/2020
Dear ACCHS Community,
I hope you all had a restful break and that this message finds you in good health.
We feel transparency and communication are key in supporting our many constituents. More than ever, we can all see the need for clear and up-to-date information to help everyone navigate these challenging times. We understand many are facing hardships, and many more will have to make hard choices in the days and weeks ahead. We hope to support you as well as we are able.
Let me first congratulate you on a successful spring trimester. Though challenging, we came together as a community to resolve many of the issues facing us. Thank you for your calm, resilience and understanding as we moved forward together. You, our administration, and most of all our dedicated instructors deserve a thundering round of applause for navigating the migration, instruction, and implementation of online teaching strategies. Though we may still encounter technical issues with online courses, I hope our community will continue to show our faculty the same gratitude and support in the coming term. These times are unprecedented and I have seen our community navigate them admirably well.
In health and community.
Andres Bella, Acting President
(click tabs below for detailed information on a each topic)
The next Academy Townhall for faculty and students is scheduled for Friday, May 15th. Program administrators will share the specifics soon. Normally, this day would be reserved for our Comprehensive Examinations, but as you know from the previous communication, we have postponed the Comprehensive Exams until July, when there is a reasonable possibility at least some in-person activities may resume.
We still do not know when Governor Newsom will declare public and private school systems to be open. The Academy has no authority to remain closed or to elect to continue online courses if the President of the United States and the Governor of California commit to lifting the shelter-in-place and opening schools again. We are obligated to follow the direction of the Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (ACAOM), who in turn is regulated by the US Department of Education. The California Acupuncture Board (CAB) has little bearing over the decisions made by the Governor of California. The ACCHS Board of Directors, and the school itself, have none.
CAB regulations state that programs leading to TCM licensure must be held in-person; however, CAB will follow edicts from the Governor’s office to grant leniency should the Governor’s office decide that schools will not reopen. When we spoke to CAB, it was indicated that CAB would honor online courses as long as it had the proper distance education waivers accepted by ACAOM. If the Governor keeps schools closed for the summer, it is probable that ACAOM will extend the Academy’s distance education waivers. Online education waivers are granted by ACAOM – our accrediting body – in accordance with federal and state governments.
Our current distance education waiver is set to expire June 1, 2020. The Academy feels it is very likely the governor will extend closures for schools, colleges and universities, through June. Administration is in agreement that this would be the most prudent course of action at this time. In that instance, ACAOM will likely extend our distance education waiver.
If the governor does not extend school closures, it is probable that ACAOM will not extend our waivers. The school can (and likely will) petition ACAOM to allow the Academy to continue online courses through the term, but it is likely ACAOM will follow the decision of the governor and CAB regulations, in which instance the school will have no power or authority to continue online education. Following this, logically, any petitions to keep schools closed should be directed to Governor Newsom’s office.
As mentioned, administration feels it is likely Governor Newsom will keep schools closed through at least the end of June; though exactly when school campuses will be forced to reopen remains an unknown. Amid preparations for the summer term, the Academy’s administration is seeking the advice of the CDC and CPHD on how to proceed with building protocols (such as daily periodic sanitizing, social-distancing, mandatory facemasks, modified schedules, clinical training, and other safety protocols related to in-person and face-to-face school scenarios). The Academy will work with students, faculty, and staff to develop a written polices and procedures detailing these safety protocols during the migration back to in-person courses and likely beyond. We expect the migration back to in-person courses to be every bit as challenging as the migration to online courses when Shelter-In-Place was announced. Your patience and support throughout this process will be paramount. The staff and faculty at the Academy have made significant sacrifices to continue all programs and services. We are very grateful for your continued support.
The US Department of Education has not been vocal about grant possibilities for graduate students; however the CARES Act has made grant funding available to students in need. The Academy has submitted several grant applications to the Department of Education for funds that should be set aside for students and for the institution. If the Academy is accepted for the student grants, we will announce a process to disburse these funds to the students with the greatest need. More information on the grants available to schools can be seen in Secretary Devos’s letter to schools (https://www2.ed.gov/about/
All of us at the Academy continue to make what we hope are the best choices given the most up-to-date information available. Please be sure that you are staying safe and keeping with any routine that maximizes the safety and well-being of you and your loved ones. We will continue to post updates as they unfold on the http://www.acchs.edu/covid-19 web page. Thank you and have a great weekend.
Student Virtual Townhall, 4/10/2020
The ACCHS Admin is dedicated to supporting all constituents during this time, and recognizes that there is an interconnectedness at play; how everyone is doing affects how everyone else is doing. We are developing guidelines and resources to help students and faculty navigate the distance learning experience, to minimize undue stress or disproportionate expectation on everyone. We understand that the present circumstances are disruptive to every member of the ACCHS Community, and that no one has an increased capacity, but rather the opposite is true. We are working hard to ensure that your student learning experience remains exceptional, and minimizes the challenges with online learning to the greatest extent possible.
Online / Distance Education Task Force
The ACCHS Admin have created a task force and brought in subject matter experts (Karin Parramore & Anthony Von der Muhll) to develop training for faculty to tackle the challenges of online learning. Class sessions will be broken up, so there can be activities such as pre-recorded lecture or readings, reflections on a given topic, etc. that have to be done before a face-to-face online session, and then specific reflections or assignments completed after class. This can break up a 3-hour class into several components, only one of which must be fulfilled as face-to-face time. This can allow greater flexibility in managing your schedule, and reduce the toll of an 8-hour day in front of the computer.
Please click on the individual topics to the right to learn more about ACCHS position going into the Summer 2020 trimester along with responses to specific topics of interest brought forward by the student body.
Thank you!
— ACCHS Admin
(click tabs below for detailed information on a each topic)
We are in constant communication with ACAOM, and abiding by their limits of what is acceptable during the pandemic. CAB has not yet released guidelines, but rather has indicated to follow ACAOM’s guidelines. We are well aware of CAB’s guidelines regarding licensure, and will not do anything in our education that poses a risk of students failing to fulfill CAB’s requirements.
ACCHS has sought to find a solution to the problems at hand that would not necessitate greatly delaying everyone’s matriculation through the Masters program. Because of the highly linked nature of the curriculum, any change to class order is difficult, and many changes are impossible without radically re-arranging the entire curriculum (a process that necessitates many steps in order to be considered legitimate by accrediting agencies).
ACCHS plans to run its standard MSTCM Summer trimester curriculum in full so that no student will fall behind in didactic matriculation. ACCHS Admin acknowledges that certain classes lend themselves to online education better than others. In the future, should students wish to take the entire course again, they can do so at no charge. In addition, ACCHS will offer practical, hands-on elective courses in Fall 2020 to make up for any lack of hands-on experience during the Summer 2020 trimester. These can be audited at $80 per unit, which basically just offsets the cost of operating the courses.
ACCHS will return to an in-person on-site curriculum as soon as is safely possible per state and federal guidelines. Our hope is that no student will be delayed in their graduation during this time, and we will do all that is reasonable and will not compromise our standing with accrediting agencies to help that happen.
- ACCHS will not be offering clinical training during the break or online in the Summer 2020 term.
- Clinic will allow students to make-up hours that they were not satisfied with via online learning in future trimesters. If a student chooses to pass on the online clinic, they can notify their supervisor and the clinic admin (Andrea), and do the make-up in the next term when on-site clinic is available.
- Clinic by necessity is not being offered in the Summer, but we anticipate having in-person clinic in the Fall 2020 trimester, and can possibly open up clinic mid-trimester should the situation change dramatically in the Summer.
The total number of hours approved by ACAOM for Distance Education are as follows:
- 50 hours of clinical observation
- 70 hours of clinical internship
- 35 treatments of student delivered patient care
Summer Elective Courses
In the Summer, ACCHS is adding 4 units of elective classes to the curriculum. Summer Trimester elective courses are offered in addition to the standard curriculum, and do not take place of any courses/units in the standard MSTCM curriculum.
ACCHS plans to add hands-on elective courses in the Fall to supplement student learning in the wake of Shelter-in-Place. These classes will be offered at audit prices ($80/unit) opposed to the standard $261/unit. In future trimesters when the courses that students took online are offered again in-person, these students will be allowed to enroll in these classes for free.
Cost per unit will remain the same for in-person and online learning: $261/unit. In-person Fall elective courses aimed to supplement student learning for hands-on courses will be offered to all students at audit price: $80/unit. All students taking a course online in the Summer trimester will be able to enroll/audit in the same course in the future at no cost.
Please visit the following links for information about Financial Aid: https://studentaid.gov/announcements-events/coronavirus & https://acchs.edu/students-alumni/#studentsFinancialAid
Financial Aid checks will be sent out to students addresses listed in Empower (https://acchs.empower-xl.com/fusebox.cfm). Ensure you login to Empower to indicate where you would like your Financial Aid check mailed to asap.
At this time we can not take back or lend books due to COVID 19. Please hold on to books. They will be automatically renewed and all fines waived. If you wrote any books down in library binder, please email bmorris@acchs.edu.
Library webpage updated at https://opac.libraryworld.com/opacv4/index.php library name is acchs no password required.
Beth is available for zoom meetings for virtual research help if needed.
Faculty/instructors will need to be mindful that due to COVID19 print materials such as books may not be accessible. Libraries nationwide are either closed or providing limited/virtual services
To access library from the ACCHS website
>students/alumni> library> click on online searchable catalog
If device asks for user and password: type in library name (acchs) no password needed
Campus Update 3/25/2020
Dear ACCHS Community,
I hope this message finds you in good health. I urge you all to find solace in knowing that we are a resilient community, capable of overcoming our current circumstances and adversity. Please know that the decisions made at the Academy first take into account the safety of all our constituents.
Our program administrators and staff are working very hard from home and from the office to maintain communications with all our student body. If you have additional questions, please contact your program administrator directly.
This is a time of difficult decisions and rapid change. Please support us as we work to make, what we hope are the best choices given the current information available. Most importantly, please be sure that you are staying safe and keeping with any routine that maximizes the safety and well-being of you and your loved ones. We at the Academy advocate for nation-wide social distancing and isolation measures to help slow the spread of these disease,
support our emergency medicine colleagues and mitigate the unavoidable impact this disease is will have in the months to come. We will continue to post updates as they unfold on the http://www.acchs.edu/covid-19 web page. The only way through is together.
In health and community,
Andres Bella, Acting President
(click tabs below for detailed information on a each topic)
As of today, March 25, 2020, the Academy campus remains closed. We have been processing as much information as possible from the CDC, Alameda County Public Health Department, neighboring counties, local school districts, and the Governor’s office. We have seen a rise in confirmed cases in our community and noted that the governor has updated the statewide Stay Home order with no set termination date. Local school districts, including BUSD and OUSD, have announced an extension of their closures through May 1.
As you know, registration for the summer term has begun. After meeting with senior administrators, including our deans and directors, we’ve determined opening in-person practical training would be unwise and are in consensus that the duration of the COVID-19 spread (was and resulting impact) will likely extend through at least early summer, if not beyond.
The Academy is reviewing all possible options to maintain a methodology for comprehensive practical clinical training that doesn’t compromise the quality of education, but also are in agreement we will not be able to offer this at the level we’d like through any distance learning formats. For this reason, the Academy will suspend further practical clinical training for the MSTCM program, possibly for the duration of the summer trimester. We are hopeful that careful resolution of the very serious public health issues surrounding COVID-19 may allow the Academy to begin rolling out an abbreviated schedule of practical clinical training hours for the MSTCM program by July 1; however, we are cautiously optimistic.
The Accreditation Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine has issued an emergency waiver for “limited” distance education courses within the practical clinical training portion of the program. This is something that we would incorporate into practical clinical training should the Academy begin offering clinical training hours on July 1. A special registration period would precede the roll-out
The Academy has begun preparations to offer all of its summer DAOM and MSTCM didactic courses online. This includes hands-on courses. This development may change and migrate to an in-person format should the public health crisis resolve during the summer term. In addition, the Academy is exploring offering additional didactic elective courses during the summer term to aid in learning and augment course loads, particularly for students who depend on full-time financial aid (full-time equals 10 units). Financial aid disbursements will continue as planned for May 1, 2020. We will mail disbursement check to the address on file (please update your address on Empower if necessary).
We at the Academy believe that special online procedures, including streaming demonstrations will support the school’s ability to offer hands-on courses online without sacrificing program quality. Additionally, the Academy plans to offer practical lab/elective intensives in future terms to augment these courses. The Academy’s academic department is composing a survey regarding these issues that will go out to all students later this week. Please remember that the circumstances regarding the COVID-19 issue are continuously changing. We will do everything in our power to reinstitute the practical clinical training portion of our program as soon as circumstance allows – ideally, no later than July 1st – however your safety and the preservation of educational quality are our top priorities.
Campus Update 3/16/2020
By now, you should have received some communication from your instructors regarding didactic course instruction and how migration to online mediums will unfold. For some courses that require hands-on practice, instructors may need to make-up class hours after the Order mandate is lifted.
The clinic’s admin is working with clinical supervisors as quickly as possible to incorporate a combination of clinical case studies and practical clinical hours that will need to be made up after the Order mandate is lifted and the clinic re-opens. We apologize for this disruption and will continue to work for you during these difficult times.
More importantly, please be sure that you are staying safe and keeping with any routine that maximizes the safety and well-being of you and your loved ones. We will continue to post updates as they unfold on the http://www.acchs.edu/covid-19 web page.
In health and community,
Andres Bella, Acting President
Campus Update 3/15/2020
Dear ACCHS Community,
Our sincerest thanks to our community for your support of each other and the school during this challenging time. Administration is working hard to address this crisis and mitigate any potential risks to students or patients, while supporting you in the programs, clinic, and working to support our community. This is a time of difficult decisions and rapid change. Please bear with us as we work hard to make what we hope are the best choices, given the current information available.
*** Please pay attention to your email for communications with the school, and forward and disseminate communications to classmates and instructors if you think may not be receiving them.
As of Sunday, March 15, there are 338 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in California. There are six reported deaths. Friday saw the first confirmed case among UC Berkeley student body. While testing is just starting to roll out across the state, models suggest that the actual number of cases is significantly higher but still in the beginning stages. While the relative quiet has led some to suggest that contagion is still low, leading public health officials are recommending everyone proceed as is transmissibility is a very real and likely possibility. We do know that rates of infection will increase in the weeks to come, and are working to take steps now to protect our community. This evening governor Newsom announced statewide measures aimed at addressing this crisis (https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1vAxRBpALPaxl). Please watch this press conference to familiarize yourself with the new policies and guidelines being implemented.
As we continue to monitor the current outbreak of COVID-19 via through the California Public Health Department and the Alameda County Public Health Department websites here and here. While at the Academy (or when in the general public), please adhere to the guidelines set forth by the WHO and CDC.
As a small institution we rely on our instructors, students and community to support academic programs and efforts. Please let us know if you have any other thoughts our questions. Thank you and please be safe.
In health and community,
Andres Bella, Acting President
(click tabs below for detailed information on a each topic)
The Academy will be scaling back in-person resources at the Academy facility. With heavy hearts, by order of Alameda county officials, we are announcing that the Academy of Chinese Culture and Health Sciences will close its doors beginning on Tuesday, March 17, 2020. You may view the “shelter in place” order here (http://acphd.org/media/559658/health-officer-order-shelter-in-place-20200316.pdf).
Last week the school applied for, and granted emergency waiver approval from ACAOM to initiate distance education for our MSTCM program through the end of the term. We have reached out to all instructors to initiate this process, and asked them to communicate with students about courses and shift their curriculum to a “virtual” model right away. Some have already begun that work. This coming week all courses will be migrated to distance education or correspondence instruction.
To be clear: the expectation is that all courses will shift to an online or virtual environment. There is the very real possibility that this may continue through the end of the term.
In courses where this is prohibitive to learning, we will be working with instructors to reschedule a day of instruction to later this summer, once we’ve determined we can resume regular courses. We will be leaning heavily on support from our instructors during this period, to help usher this process and support student matriculation while we develop systems and best practices. In the meantime, we in administration would ask for your support in these efforts by organizing as cohorts and inquiring directly with instructors about class changes for the remainder of the term. Please be patient as this is new terrain for all of us, and stress and tension in the community is already very high. If you have any suggestions, expertise and availability to support these efforts, please reach out to our academic team directly.
The Academy will be cancelling future patient appointments and suspending live clinical training beginning 3/16/2020.
We will be meeting this week to reconfigure systems to shift clinic training to an online learning environment. We are asking students to please keep accurate, detailed records of missed shifts to support clinical administration in tracking your hours. The Academy has implemented this more lenient absence policy to accommodate students in their last weeks of the trimester.
An announcement will be made from clinical administration in the coming week regarding options for completing or reschedule your clinical internship hours in the coming weeks. The Academy will not be booking patient appointments until further notice.
