Classes on a cruise ship for Dominica medical students

Last updated: October 16, 2017 at 12:50 pm

Medical students in Dominica disrupted by the carnage from Hurricane Maria will head back to class today on a cruise ship campus.

In an unconventional move, just over 1,000 students from the Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica, which was ravaged by the category five storm last month, will live and learn on the “uniquely fitted cruise liner”.

It will be docked off the coast of St Kitts. The majority of staff will live on dry land in St Kitts, said an Adtalem spokeman.

The Dominica institution is one of a number of higher education establishments within the Adtalem Global Education group.

Officials notified students of the new arrangement on Friday. A disclosure form was submitted to the US Securities and Exchange Commission that same day.

The university will draw on “instructional, professional and recreational resources” available at its sister school, Ross University School of Veterinary Medicine”, according to the SEC document.

Around 1,300 people were evacuated from the university when Hurricane Maria made a direct hit on 18 September.

The death toll on the devastated island currently stands at 27, although with people still missing this is expected to rise.