UCSD will adopt a “”wait and see”” approach when deciding whether or not to enroll students from severe acute respiratory syndrome-affected regions for summer session classes, a committee decided on May 7. The decision follows UC Berkeley’s decision to restrict students from Taiwan, Hong Kong and China because of the increased severity of the disease.

While on May 9, the University of California Office of the President issued more detailed guidelines regarding students from affected areas, it had said in a May 5 statement that it “”recommends that campus officials strongly consider suspending or postponing upcoming programs hosting groups of students from SARS-affected countries or regions until travel advisories are modified or rescinded.””

UC Berkeley, which holds classes on the semester system and has summer school students arriving in late May, initially restricted enrollment by all students from SARS-affected regions, but Berkeley Chancellor Robert M. Berdahl announced on May 10 that the university would admit about 80 students from China, Taiwan and Hong Kong for core academic classes. Berdahl said UC Berkeley will still hold off on the decision of enrolling around 500 additional students in that campus’ English as a Second Language program run through extension.

“”We are able to do so because as of late yesterday, we have succeeded in identifying and preparing sufficient space to identify students who might present symptoms after arriving,”” Berdahl said. “”We now have the capacity to deal with a limited number of enrollees from areas listed on the [Center for Disease Control] advisory.””

UCSD’s summer session, which begins on June 30, only has about 35 students from SARS-affected regions, all of whom are from Taiwan, according to Peter Thomas, director of international programs for UCSD Extension. The “”wait and see”” decision by the campus means that there will be no change in enrollment for students from those regions.

The UCOP guidelines to campuses, issued on May 9, advises postponement of travel to affected countries and dictates that campuses receiving individuals from affected areas “”take appropriate steps”” to ensure that incoming students monitor their own health, including taking their own temperature on a daily basis and phone health care providers to set up an in-person checkup should they develop symptoms of the disease.

“”Individuals from countries that have an advisory in effect risk exporting SARS or becoming ill themselves during travel,”” said UC Vice President for Health Affairs Michael Drake. “”We support the CDC recommendation to avoid nonessential travel.””