Since the U.S. and Israel began their war with Iran in late February, U.S. institutions of higher education with branch campuses in the region have switched to online classes, and many universities have suspended all travel to the Middle East. <\/p>\n
But the situation grew more dire over the weekend, when Iran\u2019s military threatened to attack<\/a> American and Israeli universities following U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iranian universities, according to multiple<\/a> news<\/a> outlets<\/a>. The warning<\/a>, from Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, advised students, employees and nearby residents to evacuate at least a kilometer from the campuses. <\/p>\n Amid the ongoing military activity in the region, U.S. institutions are weighing how best to keep their students safe. Several U.S. branch campuses in the Middle East have temporarily shut down or switched to remote operations in response to the warning. A recap of the latest developments:<\/p>\n NYU Temporarily Closes Abu Dhabi Campus <\/p>\n New York University\u2019s student newspaper, The Washington Square News, reported Monday<\/a> that the institution\u2019s campus in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, would be closed indefinitely; the campus had already moved all classes online in response to the war, but students and employees could still access campus. <\/p>\n Only a small portion of NYU Abu Dhabi students live on campus, but those who do had already been relocated during spring break, a university spokesperson told Inside Higher Ed. <\/p>\n Other U.S. campuses have responded to the threat as well. According to The Hoya<\/a>, the Georgetown University student newspaper, Georgetown\u2019s Qatar campus had been planning to switch from virtual to hybrid learning this week for students who opted to stay in Qatar. But in light of the Iranian military\u2019s new threats, the institution decided to continue remote-only courses. Students can also opt in to pass-fail grading for this semester, The Hoya reported. <\/p>\n Georgetown is one of six U.S. institutions with campuses in Qatar\u2019s Education City, an education and research complex near the capital of Doha. Two weeks ago, students living in the dorms in Education City were briefly evacuated amid missile attacks, but they were able to return the same day. <\/p>\n In a statement, Francisco Marmolejo, president of higher education at the Qatar Foundation, which operates Education City, wrote that all six U.S. campuses continue to operate remotely and that decisions about their operations are made in coordination with both the Qatar Foundation and the U.S. campuses. <\/p>\n \u201cQF remains in continuous contact and full alignment with official guidance from Qatari authorities and has activated its well-rehearsed contingency plan to address any potential threats. As we always do, we are working closely with national stakeholders and our Partner Universities to ensure the safety of everyone in Education City, including the higher education community,\u201d he wrote. \u201cWe are confident that whether delivered in person, or online, student support will continue without interruption, and learning outcomes will be met. We are grateful for the resilience and cooperation of our students, families, faculty, and staff as we navigate this period together.\u201d<\/p>\n One Georgetown Qatar student who is still in the country told The Hoya in a written message that although he feels relatively safe, \u201cthere is still a constant underlying sense of anxiety and fear that many of us are living with. Since last month, our routines have been completely disrupted,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s always uncertainty about when the next strikes might happen or when emergency alerts will go off on our phones.\u201d <\/p>\n In response to the latest threats, Arkansas State University\u2019s campus in Doha transitioned to online learning on Monday for the first time since the war began, local media reported<\/a>, as did American University of Beirut<\/a>, a U.S.-based university with its main campus in Lebanon\u2019s capital. <\/p>\n Texas A&M University\u2019s campus in Qatar announced<\/a> last Thursday<\/a> that the rest of its semester would also be fully remote. <\/p>\n Study Abroad Trips Canceled <\/p>\n Several institutions have cut short current study abroad programs in the Middle East or announced that upcoming programs will not move forward. <\/p>\n Rice University in Texas has canceled a summer study abroad program scheduled to run in the Jordanian capital of Amman from May 17 to June 26, according to The Rice Thresher<\/a>, the institution\u2019s student newspaper. The trip was one of seven Rice in Country programs<\/a>\u2014faculty-led six-week study abroad offerings worth six credits each\u2014slated for summer 2026. According to the Thresher, students would have taken two Arabic courses while in Amman. <\/p>\n Rice made the decision after the U.S. Department of State raised its travel advisory<\/a> for Jordan to level\u00a03 earlier this month; university policy prohibits students from traveling<\/a> to countries classified at level\u00a03 or 4. Last summer, Israel and Iran\u2019s 12-day war occurred while the Rice in Jordan program was occurring, but Jordan remained classified at level\u00a02, according to the article.<\/p>\n \u201c[When] you see that the American Embassy and State Department are advising evacuation, that\u2019s generally a really big red flag that you know the trip is probably not, unfortunately, going to be viable for this year,\u201d Juliana Crim, global travel safety manager for Rice Global, told the Thresher. <\/p>\n Northeastern University also adjusted a summer Dialogues of Civilization course that planned to visit Egypt, the UAE and Turkey from early May to early June. The trip will now include Turkey, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Serbia, the student paper, The Huntington News, reported<\/a>. A trip to Pakistan organized by Harvard University\u2019s Pakistani Students Association slated to leave March 11 was interrupted<\/a> when the group\u2019s flight was canceled. <\/p>\n Some current study abroad programs in Jordan and surrounding countries have also been cut short. The seven students enrolled in Middlebury College\u2019s program in Amman were relocated to Morocco, where Middlebury has another program, according to articles in both the Middlebury<\/a> and Brown University<\/a> student newspapers (the majority of the program\u2019s participants are not Middlebury students). <\/p>\n Middlebury\u2019s program in Jordan is unique because students study the Levantine Arabic dialogue, according to the Middlebury Campus. Now that they\u2019ve relocated, students in the program will continue to take online classes with their Jordanian professors, but they will not have the benefit of living in home stays with families that speak the dialect. <\/p>\n An NYU spokesperson told Inside Higher Ed that the university\u2019s Tel Aviv study away site is closed and students who were studying there have been relocated. <\/p>\n Many institutions\u2014including Penn State<\/a>, Washington State<\/a>, Texas Tech<\/a> and Brown<\/a> Universities\u2014have banned or strongly advised against any travel to the Middle East for the time being.<\/p>\n SATs Scrapped<\/p>\n Beyond U.S. institutions, Middle Eastern students hoping to apply to selective U.S. colleges later this year were also impacted by the ongoing war when the College Board canceled the March SAT at some locations in the region. About 11,000 students had their March 14 exam postponed, the College Board said in an email to Inside Higher Ed, and about half that number were ultimately able to take the makeup test on March 28. The organization said they have contacted the impacted students to offer support and outline possible paths forward.<\/p>\n \u201cThe health and safety of students, families, and educators is our top priority. Our thoughts are with all those affected by the conflict, and we recognize the uncertainty and disruption this moment is creating for students, families, and school communities,\u201d a College Board spokesperson wrote. \u201cWe are working closely with our partners at local test centers and test coordinators, who are best positioned to assess conditions and determine whether it is safe to administer the SAT. We fully support their decisions, and we provide guidance and options such as scheduling makeup test dates or providing full refunds to affected students.\u201d<\/p>\n Students impacted by cancellations bemoaned the situation on social media.<\/p>\n