Students enrolled at Ross University School of Medicine in Dominica have been unable to return to the campus since Hurricane Maria barreled across the island Sept. 18. However, officials said students will resume fall semester classes on a cruise ship, the Chicago Tribune reports.
A spokesperson for Ross University School of Medicine's parent company, Downers Grove, Ill.-based Adtalem Global Education, told the Chicago Tribune roughly 1,050 students will resume classes Oct. 16 aboard a "uniquely fitted cruise liner" docked off the coast of St. Kitts in the Caribbean, the report states. Students, who will live and study aboard the ship through December, were notified of the arrangement Oct. 6.
The majority of the medical school's faculty and staff will live in land-based housing on the island, the spokesperson said.
Officials are reportedly still working to finalize the arrangement and obtain necessary regulatory approval.
University officials have not returned to the island since the storm. Ross University School of Medicine Dean and Chancellor William F. Owen, Jr., MD, said in a statement officials have not decided where spring semester classes will be held, and it is unclear when the campus will reopen.
"We are exploring our location options for continued studies beyond [December]," said Dr. Owen. "The next locale is still being determined, but we can assure you that we are working diligently on a number of promising opportunities."