Coronavirus Qld: Bond University cancels graduation ceremony
One of Queensland’s most prestigious universities has cancelled its graduation ceremony due to the coronavirus, in an “agonising” decision that will see students have to wait till June.
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BOND University has cancelled its graduation ceremony due to the coronavirus in an “agonising” decision that will see students have to wait till June to walk on stage and receive their certificates in front of their families.
In an email sent on Tuesday to recent graduates about the February 15 ceremony, Bond University vice-chancellor Tim Brailsford said graduation ceremonies attracted a large and diverse audience, many of whom travelled through international airports.
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“We have agonised over this decision and we have explored alternative arrangements which have proven to be logistically impossible,” he said.
“Many of our graduands and their families who were planning to attend the upcoming ceremony will no longer be able to attend due to flight and travel restrictions recently introduced.
“Further, graduations ceremonies by their nature involve a large crowd gathered for several hours in a confined space in close physical proximity.
“In such circumstances, we consider that it would be irresponsible to proceed with the February ceremonies.”
It comes as Queensland Health has performed about 400 tests for the new coronavirus since January 22, including 29 yesterday.
The number of confirmed cases in Queensland remain at two, a 44-year-old man and 42-year-old woman, both Chinese tourists from the city of Wuhan – the epicentre of the outbreak.
They remain in isolation in the Gold Coast University Hospital.
So far, 12 people have tested positive to the virus in Australia – four in Victoria, four in NSW, two in South Australia and two in Queensland.
The Chinese national women’s football team, in Australia for an Olympic qualifying tournament, is expected to be released from quarantine in Brisbane’s Westin Hotel today.
Professor Brailsford said he understood the cancellation would be “deeply disappointing” and invited students to the next graduation weekend of June 12-13.
The email also advises if that date “is not suitable, you will be welcome to participate in a future graduation ceremony in October this year”.
Students were also informed a full refund of the registration, gowning hire and photography costs that had been paid would be refunded by February 14.
The university said it appreciated travel plans may have already been made and apologised to students and families, advising that if people planned to obtain a refund of travel expenses via their travel insurance provider, they could provide the email as supporting evidence.
Students will be able to formally confer their degree on February 12 which will allow formal evidence of qualifications for resumes and employer references.
Professor Brailsford said in a statement to The Courier-Mail students deserved a relaxed and anxiety-free environment for their ceremony.
“Our graduands have worked hard achieving their degrees, so ensuring they can relax and enjoy the day is of utmost importance,” he said.
“We received inquiries about whether the February ceremony was to proceed and whether we could delay the official presentation.
“We appreciate that some students will be disappointed, but the overwhelming expectation from our graduands is that they want a proper ceremony in a relaxed and anxiety-free environment surrounded by all their classmates and families.
“In the current circumstances, this is simply not possible and therefore we have taken the difficult decision and postponed the upcoming ceremony for a few months.”
Griffith University said it does not have any Australian graduations scheduled until July, but is reviewing plans for its graduation in Hong Kong scheduled for April.
Originally published as Coronavirus Qld: Bond University cancels graduation ceremony
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