Our office is currently working remotely due to state mandate in response to COVID-19 pandemic.

We encourage you to consult the ACA website for the latest announcements and other information on our programs. Due to the high volume of emails during this time, it may take us a bit to reply to you but we will do our best to assist you as soon as we can.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Stay safe 🙂

4/03/2020

Dear Students and Parents,

Due to the impact of COVID-19, our program in France was not able to offer online courses for the 3rd quarter. Andrews University is willing to offer returning students from ACA France the set of 3rd quarter courses necessary to complete minors and majors in French.

This summer, Andrews University will offer the following courses corresponding to the ACA France courses (under a different acronym):
Summer Session 1 – May 11 to June 5
Equal to 4 semester hours (needs 60 seat hours or 3 hrs/day)
FREN 412 : Compréhension et expression écrites B2 (2 crédits) (1.33 semester hours)
FREN 421 : Expression écrite B2 (2 crédits) (1.33 semester hours)
FREN 441: Grammaire B2 (2 crédits) (1.33 semester hours)

Summer Session 2 – June 8 to July 2
Equal to 6 semester hours (needs 90 seat hours or 4.5 hrs/day)
FREN 461 : Compréhension écrite B2 (3 crédits) (2 semester hours)
FREN 451: Compréhension et expression orales B2 (4 crédits) (2.66 semester hours)
FREN/SOCI 476 : Sociologie Française B2 (2 crédits) (1.33 semester hours)

Price: 8 credits at $415/each = $3320 for the quarter
Andrews University May Express fee could apply.

IMPORTANT – April 10th – Deadline for pre-registration, simply email badenas@andrews.edu

Questions? Contact Dr. Sonia Badenas – badenas@andrews.edu

NOTE: These are NOT ACA courses. These will be transferred as Andrews University courses. Therefore, enrollment needs to be done through Andrews University. These summer courses will be taught remotely. The instructor will meet daily with students via Zoom. Students registered will use Learning Hub platform for quizzes and assignments.

ACA is very appreciative to Andrews University for this initiative. We hope our returning students will be able to take advantage of this opportunity.
Stay safe. Stay home. Stay encouraged. God is watching over you and your family. God bless!
Dr. Sandra Esteves – Director, Adventist Colleges Abroad

3/26/2020
Dear Students and Parents,
We pray you are all in good health and ready to continue learning through ACA. In an attempt to keep you well informed, please read the following:
Plane Ticket Reimbursements
While working remotely, we continue reimbursing plane tickets expenses for all the ACA students that had to return home earlier due to COVID-19. Please refer to previous announcements for the information that you need to provide us in order to process your reimbursement. We thank you for your understanding, patience and cooperation.
Tuition Reimbursements
No student has yet been billed by ACA for the 3rd Quarter (please refer to previous announcement). Students who were enrolled in our semester program in England – an adjustment to the price you paid (in January) will be made soon. You will receive direct communication from ACA on the subject matter.
ACA Online Courses
Enrollment for our ACA online courses is available to students previously admitted by ACA for the current academic year. Enrollment is done directly with respective Program Directors. Below you can find the information on the ACA programs offering for the 3rd Quarter online:
Argentina: Mar 9-May 22 (Classes resume March 30)
Austria: Mar 9-May 29 (Classes have already resumed)
England: Updated dates will be communicated directly to enrolled students
France: No online courses available
Germany: Mar 16-Jun 5 (Classes have already resumed)
Italy: Mar 30-May 29 (Classes resume March 30)
Lebanon: Updated dates will be communicated directly to enrolled students
Spain: Mar 30-Jun 5 (Classes resume March 30). TOMORROW, Mar 27 – 3rd Quarter orientation will take place! Contact your Program Director asap.
IMPORTANT – If not yet done, students interested in enrolling in the 3rd Quarter for any program listed above, need to contact their Program Directors ASAP (aka right now).
Pricing for Online Courses
Our prices remain a “package deal” for up to 18 credits. The number of credits a student enrolls in does NOT affect the pricing. In these unusual circumstances, students will be allowed to enroll in the number of credits they desire, up to 18 (depending on program offerings). To make an educated decision, regarding the impact of the 3rd Quarter on your financial aid eligibility, please contact your financial advisor ASAP. Please refer to previous announcement for billing details.
Argentina – $3,775
Austria – $2,915
England – Updated price will be communicated directly to enrolled students
France – No online courses available
Germany – $2,684
Italy – $3,225
Lebanon – Updated price will be communicated directly to enrolled students
Spain – $3,453
Withdrawal and Refunds for 3rd Quarter
Given the unusual circumstances of the 3rd Quarter, the existing policy (https://www.acastudyabroad.com/faqs/) has been revised to:
 Withdrawal during first five days of term = 100% refund
 Withdrawal after first week of term = no refund
We are excited about the online courses that are being prepared for you and hope all our students will take advantage of this unique opportunity. Together we can finish this academic year in a very positive way.
Stay encouraged and please continue to stay safe, healthy and happy! 🙂
Dr. Sandra Esteves – Director, Adventist Colleges Abroad

3/19/2020
Dear Students and Parents,
We are happy to say that all our students have returned home safe and sound. Praise God!
As announced previously, we are processing plane ticket reimbursements for all the ACA students that had to return home earlier due to COVID-19. We thank you for your cooperation in providing us with the correct mailing address and the exact amount you are requesting to be reimbursed, as well as respective receipts and flight itinerary details. As we continue serving you remotely, we sincerely appreciate your cooperation, patience and understanding.
IMPORTANT – Please notice that as a result of the suspension of all ACA programs at ALL locations abroad, the ACA travel and accidental INSURANCE is being TERMINATED on March 23rd. Until then please know that our policy does not cover any expenses incurred in the United States. Students desiring to enroll in ACA online courses, need to get their own personal health insurance.
ONLINE COURSES – Please contact directly your program director to enroll in online courses, offered by some ACA programs. Unfortunately not all ACA programs are able to offer online courses. Your program director will give you details on what online courses are available and when they start. Also, they will tell you their adjusted price for these courses. No student has yet been charged by ACA for the 3rd quarter. Our billing protocol remains the same: based on the enrollment list sent by our program directors, you will be billed by your HOME university, at the beginning of the 3rd quarter. Please contact your financial advisor at your home university to learn more about your payments to ACA and any effects on your financial aid. If you do NOT desire to enroll in online courses, please notify the ACA office asap.
Stay safe, keep your immune system up and continue practicing social distancing. Be aware that COVID-19 is reported to affect young and older people, alike.

Please click here for more valuable advice posted by the CDC.
God bless!
-Dr. Sandra Esteves, Director, Adventist Colleges Abroad

3/17/2020
Dear Students, Parents, and Colleagues,
We praise God that the majority of our students have already arrived home safe and sound.
ACA office working remotely – As of today the NAD Building has moved all its offices to work remotely. The ACA office can be reached by email ONLY. This will delay some of our operations, but we will do our best with processing each plane ticket reimbursement. Reimbursements are only possible upon submission of receipts.
We appreciate your understanding and patience.
Current ACA academic year suspended at locations abroad – As announced previously ALL our programs are officially suspended at each location abroad for the remainder of this academic year. ALL ACA students are officially on spring break this week.
Online courses – There may be a possibility of online courses for students wishing to conclude minors/majors. In this case, prices and possibly calendar will be adjusted. We will communicate more info as soon as we have it.
For the meantime, enjoy some well-deserved rest 🙂
2020 summer programs – ALL 2020 summer programs have been cancelled.
2020/21 Academic Year – A decision will be made in some weeks, depending on how the COVID-19 outbreak unfolds. We are receiving applications at this time but will NOT be able to start processing them until we have cleared all other urgent matters regarding the current academic year. We appreciate your understanding and patience.
When applying for next academic year, do NOT buy plane tickets before receiving confirmation from ACA that you have been accepted and that the program will be in session. ACA is NOT responsible for any inconveniences that may result from not following these instructions.
We encourage all of our study abroad community to adopt the much needed social distancing, or self-quarantining for the next weeks. Now more than ever, our individual choices have the power to affect other people’s lives. Let’s do our part encouraged by the confidence that we have an Almighty God ready to protect us and bless our efforts.
Praying that you all stay well and safe,
-Dr. Sandra Esteves, Director, Adventist Colleges Abroad

3/15/2020
Dear ACA Students and Parents,
ACA is managing an unpredictable and fluid crisis, and along with everyone else, is making decisions based on the information available at that exact moment. As the news is reporting the current struggles of our American airports to successfully screen and clear all passengers entering the country, we double our prayers for God’s protection of each student who is traveling home.
While this tragic story unfolds and we learn that many American families (yours included) may/will struggle financially from this crisis, we want you to know that our previous announcement (about a 30% reimbursement) is no longer in effect. We want to minimize the effects of this sudden call home in whatever way we can. Thus we will review each reimbursement requested on an individual basis. Additionally, we are extending reimbursement to all students who hurriedly returned to the US, before and after our call to return home. ACA will be working closely with the North American Division Department of Treasury in devising the best way to process each reimbursement.
Unfortunately, despite our best efforts, we are predicting that the reimbursement process will take time because of the high volume of requests. Therefore we ask you – when submitting your receipts, let us know urgency of your case in order to process it in a timely fashion. To speed up the reimbursement process – please indicate in your email the exact amount that you are asking to be reimbursed for. We sincerely thank the families who will be willing to wait a little longer for their reimbursements to be processed.
Many do not realize, but the ACA office is composed of a team of two people who have been working around the clock (for over two weeks) making very hard decisions, with our students’ safety in mind. In addition, the General Conference of SDA has announced that they will be closing their offices due to COVID-19 concerns, and it is possibility that the North American Division may soon follow suite. If that happens, we will remain available to you only via email. Please know that we are, and will continue to give our best, to serve you in a situation for which nobody was prepared.
All students who are returning home at this time are officially on spring break – though a self-quarantined spring break. This is a great time to enjoy plenty of movies and popcorn. 🙂
Understand that during this spring break, our program directors are working and researching on how to best offer their courses online. They all want to help our students complete their minors and majors. But, our team is highly specialized in immersion programs, and not online courses.
With God’s blessing and creativity, we are confident that we will be able to offer you options for online courses soon. Our academic calendar and tuition prices for the 3rd quarter, or end of 2nd semester online, will naturally have to be adjusted. We will let you know all the details as soon as we have them, and continue contacting you via email and posting announcements on our website.
We ask you for your help in sharing this communication with anyone interested or affected. And we sincerely thank you for your understanding, patience, and support. Please keep in mind that we soon we may not be allowed in our office due to COVID-19 concerns. Therefore direct any questions, concerns, or suggestions to aca@nadadventist.org. We appreciate your prayers for all our students’ safe return home, and for our ACA faculty and staff.
God bless!
-Dr. Sandra Esteves, Director, Adventist Colleges Abroad

3/13/2020
Please kindly take note of this distinction- Due to Italy closing its borders, it was a necessity for ACA to evacuate our students from Italy . No other country (where we have a program) has officially closed their borders as of today. Thus the call for all students to return home does NOT fall under our evacuation protocol.
Government issued mandates are unpredictable and are quickly affecting the possibility of returning home earlier. ACA wants all students to come home, as we do not want any students to be left behind. To ease the extra costs of a sudden return home, ACA is committed to fully reimbursing the adjustment fees tied to a preexisting flight itinerary (made for return at the end of the program), OR reimbursing up to 30% of the cost of a completely new ticket.
All students were already expected to have covered the costs for their return ticket home at the end of the academic year. Therefore, ACA is not covering for that cost, but with the extra cost due to the sudden call to return home.
Our students safety and well-being is our top priority, and under the current circumstances and uncertainty of borders closing, we see no other option but to call all students to return home. ACA will not be responsible for any student choosing otherwise. All the remaining ACA programs are closed for the rest of the academic year 2019-2020.
Before making adjustments to your flight back home, please read this article.
Pay special attention to the specific quotes below from the CNN article:
”Travelers returning from impacted countries after the new restrictions are implemented on Friday must arrive through 13 US airports set up for enhanced screening.
These arriving travelers will be asked to self-quarantine for 14 days.
Customers can change their travel plans to a flight of equal or lesser value for up to 12 months from the original ticket issue, free of charge. – United airlines
KLM has extended a flexible, no-penalty change policy for tickets issued on or before March 31, 2020, and valid for travel between March 4 and May 31, regardless of the destination.”
IMPORTANT: Students returning from all programs abroad have to self-quarantine as soon as they arrive home.
God is a master at miracles and we are sure each student, traveling home at this time, will be accompanied by a host of angels. We are praying for all our students and appreciate your prayers too.
-ACA

3/13/2020
To expound on yesterday’s update – ACA is asking ALL students (from every ACA program) to return home as soon as possible, while travel to and from the US is still easily facilitated.
ACA will reimburse all fees resulting from flight changes made due to this sudden return home. Please email all receipts to the ACA email – aca@nadadventist.org, and we will be in touch with you to process reimbursement as soon as we can. We appreciate your patience and understanding during this process.
If a student is unable to purchase a flight home or change an existing flight on such short notice – we ask that he/she immediately notify their program director. All program directors have been requested to assist the students in paying for their flight fees should the need arise. Therefore, no student will stay be left behind due to financial reasons.
We sadly understand the reluctance to abide to this sudden call home, but all students are expected to do their part towards returning home safely. ACA is not responsible for any risks, should a student decide not to abide by this call home. Keep in mind that this is a constantly evolving situation and we can no longer make plans based on today’s feeling of safety on any campus. We must act now while the window of opportunity to easily return home is open.
Concerning the many questions we have received regarding credits –Please know that our office is doing the utmost to navigate through this ever-escalating and unpredictable pandemic. And currently, our foremost priority is making sure all our ACA students return home safe and sound. ACA cannot guarantee that third quarter will be able to be completed via online resources, but our programs abroad are researching the possibility.
Our office greatly appreciates all your emails and kind words of support and graciously asks that you reserve non-immediate inquiries for a later date – as we focus all our efforts into bringing our students home safely. Please help us in sharing this important information with all invested parties, especially affected families.
Keep us in your prayers – God made miracles in bringing our students from Italy home safely, and we know he will do the same for all our other students.
-ACA

3/12/2020
Dear ACA Students, Parents, and Colleagues –
A few minutes ago, we received news that the governments’ of Austria, France, and Spain, will be closing all their schools for an extended period of time. Following in the footsteps of what has transpired in Italy over the last couple of weeks. As a regretful result, each ACA Program Director has been requested to inform their students to change their flight itineraries for a departure as soon as possible – with the promise that ACA will reimburse the resulting fees. We reassure you that the students will be allowed to remain safely on campus until the time of their imminent departure. And we ask that you assist us in quelling the mounting anxiety and panic surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
As a reminder – the 30-day travel ban only applies to foreign nationals trying to enter the US, and not US citizens seeking reentry.
-ACA

3/12/2020
All Current ACA Students –
Due to the travel ban issued by the US and the closing of Italy’s borders – All students ARE REQUIRED to suspend any personal travel, stay on campus, and closely follow the safety measures instructed at each campus. Failure to adhere to these instructions will result in expulsion from the ACA program.
We would like to clarify that the ban only applies to foreign nationals trying to enter the US, and not US citizens seeking reentry, but due to the rapid progression of events we encourage students to be proactive about considering returning home earlier. Please contact your airline or travel agency for any changes to your current return itinerary. Any students remaining on campus, are not authorized to leave their campus.
Take note that ACA is NOT evacuating students from any other program at this time. Should this change – notification will be sent to the corresponding parties.
Despite that all ACA campuses are currently safe from COVID-19, ACA can no longer guarantee the completion of the 3rd quarter.
We will continue posting updates her as they become available.
Thank you for your patience and understanding,
-ACA

3/10/2020
All Current ACA Students –
We very much regret to inform that measures taken by the Italian government last evening (March 9, 2020) have resulted in the closure of the ACA program at Villa Aurora Florence, Italy. Thereby ACA is asking all students currently enrolled in the program at Villa Aurora to return to their homes. Students will no longer have adequate time to complete their academic year in Italy, because the Italian government has shut down all schools and universities for an extended period of time.
In order to ensure the safety of all our ACA students currently studying in other countries also affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, we ask that extreme caution be extended to all students’ personal travel plans. In addition, please follow all the safety measures currently implemented at each ACA program. This is a global crisis in development and we are monitoring daily in order to advise our students. We are taking all the necessary steps to ensure the ACA programs currently in session are safe for the students, not just on campus and on said country, but also in regards to their safe return home. Failure to follow these instructions may result in expulsion from the ACA program.
Please direct any questions or concerns to the ACA office via aca@nadadventist.org.
Thank you for your valuable cooperation.
-ACA

3/6/2020
Dear All,
Below you will find the latest added safety measures at our ACA program in Italy.Please refer to previous ACA communication regarding the safety measures already implemented at Villa Aurora (VA).
• Remaining students in Italy
There are 17 students remaining in Italy, in good health. Their parents are supportive of their decision. Allow me to share two examples: One mother visited Florence this past weekend to confirm that VA is a safe place for her daughter. She returned home and left her daughter in the program. One other family had planned to travel in Europe with their child during her spring break. The parents are still going to travel to Europe but have asked the student to remain on VA campus.
• Students who have left the program
Up till now, 16 students have tearfully returned home from Italy. Some because their parents requested, others because their universities requested. Among them was a student who left the program as a preventative measure, due to a weaker immune system.
• Campus access restrictions
The campus church is closed until the end of the month and all access to campus from outside people has been restricted. Since VA doesn’t have any other students on campus besides the ACA and theology students, such restrictions are possible. These restrictions have also been applied to ACA students from other programs in Europe who wanted to visit VA and stay on campus. Visiting other ACA campuses is a common practice during spring break. This year VA declined all requests.
• Students cooperation
Our students in Italy have been very cooperative with all the safety measures implemented at VA so far, including the possibility of spending their spring break on campus, for the sake of caution. VA’s staff is preparing several social activities to make the most memorable spring break on campus. 🙂
• Italy schools and universities closure
The government mandated action to close all schools and universities in Italy will take effect until March 15. The ACA calendar will not be affected because the 3rd quarter at VA is scheduled to start on March 16. This government mandate represents an added precaution to stop contagion due to the difficulty at most educational institutions in Italy to assure 3 feet of distance between each student in the classrooms. Which is similar to the precautions some schools here in the US have taken by suspending classes as well. VA has spacious classrooms and small groups of students per class, therefore they have the conditions to assure a safe distance (3ft minimum) between each student. Thus, today VA’s administration announced that the final exams of 2nd quarter will take place next Monday and Tuesday as initially scheduled. Desks and chairs have already been repositioned in the classrooms in preparation for Monday.
• Early departures
It seems that students who needed to return earlier, have already done so. Nevertheless Villa Aurora will continue facilitating any requested early departures. ACA will keep the home universities updated on lists of students.
ACA will continue closely monitoring the circumstances of life at Villa Aurora. We will continue providing updates as soon as they take place. We appreciate your trust, support and prayers.
– Dr. Sandra Esteves, ACA Director

3/3/2020
ACA Students, Parents, and All Collaborators:
Please click here for a PDF summary of all official updates and information circulated by ACA up until now.We also encourage you to watch this video over common misconceptions of the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
-ACA

2/28/2020
Applying ACA Students:
At this time, the ACA office will continue accepting applications for the ACA 2020 summer programs. If any program is suspended due to the coronavirus outbreak – students will be fully reimbursed the price paid for the ACA program applied for. But we would like to clarify that there will be NO reimbursements for plane tickets, therefore caution is advised.
Once a student is accepted into an ACA program – it is recommended to seek and purchase “fully refundable” fares, or fares that allow for last minute cancellations.
We are monitoring this constantly evolving situation, and will continue to post any necessary updates on our website.

-ACA

2/25/2020
Current ACA Students:
In light of the increased cases of the coronavirus – all ACA students are currently recommended to suspend all personal travel and stay as close to campus as possible. At this time, ACA is NOT evacuating students from any of our programs. Nevertheless, it is to the discretion of the student to decide whether or not they wish to return home at this point in time.
This is a situation in development and we are closely monitoring all updates as they become available. We graciously ask that a calm approach be taken as we receive updates, and that the recommendations provided by the World Health Organization (WHO) be put into practice by all.
Do not hesitate to email aca@nadadventist.org with any questions or concerns regarding this topic.We are praying for the continued safety and good health of all our ACA students, faculty and staff.
-ACA

6/29/2020

In light of recent news – stipulating the block of US citizens entry to the EU (beginning July 1, 2020), ACA has consulted with the consulates corresponding to our European programs, and confirmed that the ban only pertains to tourists, and not to students applying for study abroad. The Italian, French, and Spanish consulates, are and will continue processing student visa applications for the foreseeable future.

NO travel arrangements should be made before receiving an acceptance letter from the ACA office.

If you have any more questions, please direct them to aca@nadadventist.org.

Thank you!

-ACA Team