In order to update communication data, the Guidance Section of Office of Student Affairs (OSA) has already established an overall student communication database. Tsao Tian-ya, Chief of Guidance Section, said that the database would greatly help school authorities monitor the SARS situation. A Student Merit and Punishment meeting held on May 14 has amended regulations of governing student merit and punishment under which students who do not update his basic data will be punished or reprimanded.

The collection of students’ communication data by every department was completed on May 9. You could find out student’s address and telephone by a snap of the fingers. Tsao said that the punishment of students who do not update basic data would increase OSA and Office of Academic Affairs (OAA) efficiency and help school authorities have better ways of contacting students.

The Guidance Section has encountered the difficulty to inform students of class cancelled when a student of Department of International Trade was diagnosed as a SARS suspect. Tsao said that 10 students were almost losing contact.

This problem has caused school authorities to set up student communication database. The information of address and telephone numbers was acquired when students enrolled at Tamkang University (TKU). But the real address was the house he rented. Student has always changed his cellular phone from time to time. School authorities have a hard time contacting some students. If school authorities want to send an important notice to students, it has always been sent to the registered address. Nobody will transfer the letter because the student’s parent did not live there either. Even the telephone number has also been changed so it becomes impossible to make contact with students.

Tsao said: “I have spent one month trying to find out a student but could not accomplish it.” He said the renewal of student communication data became an emergent matter.