Campus Alert Archive
Middlebury

Twenty-Four Hours From Amman to a Plane to Rabat

VTevacuationadvisorymedium confidence
Confirmed Threat

After the U.S. State Department raised Jordan's travel advisory to Level 3 amid the US-Israel war with Iran, Middlebury College's Schools Abroad office notified seven students in its Amman, Jordan Arabic-immersion program on March 3, 2026 that the program would relocate to Rabat, Morocco. Students received the evacuation notice and were boarding a plane to Morocco roughly 24 hours later, continuing the semester there.

Alerts
1
Response
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Killed
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Injured
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Institution
Middlebury College
Private Liberal Arts · VT
~2,900 studentsMiddlebury Schools Abroad
Confirmed Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence

Some alert texts below are approximate reconstructions from news coverage, not confirmed verbatim transcripts. Reconstructed texts are shown in italic with a dashed border. Verified verbatim texts have a solid border and are marked accordingly.

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Approximate reconstructionThe Middlebury Campus (reconstructed from reporting on the relocation notice)292 chars
Following the U.S. State Department's decision to raise the travel advisory for Jordan to Level 3, Reconsider Travel, the Middlebury School in Jordan will relocate to Rabat, Morocco. Please prepare to depart Amman; program staff will coordinate your travel. Your safety is our first priority.

This text has been reconstructed from news coverage and may not reflect the exact original wording.

The decision was tied directly to the State Department raising Jordan to Level 3 ('Reconsider Travel') the prior day; Middlebury acted the following morning.
Morocco had already been prepared as a fallback location during earlier contingency planning tied to the Gaza war, which is why the move could happen within about 24 hours.
Context

Background

Middlebury College operates a network of Schools Abroad, including an Arabic-immersion program in Amman, Jordan. In spring 2026, seven students were enrolled in the Amman program (only one matriculated at Middlebury; the others were visiting students). After the US-Israel war with Iran escalated and the U.S. State Department raised Jordan to a Level 3 advisory, Middlebury's Schools Abroad office relocated the program to Rabat, Morocco. Per The Brown Daily Herald (a Brown student was among the cohort), students were on a plane to Morocco about 24 hours after the notice; two content courses continued with Jordanian professors over Zoom while Morocco-based staff took over the Arabic-language classes. The move was part of a broader spring-2026 wave of US-program relocations out of the Middle East. Middlebury's home campus is in Middlebury, Vermont (institution.state VT); the emergency was in Jordan.
Analysis

Key Findings

Pre-positioned contingency planning (Morocco prepared as a fallback during the earlier Gaza war) enabled a roughly 24-hour relocation rather than an outright cancellation
Middlebury preserved academic continuity by keeping Jordanian faculty teaching content courses over Zoom while local Morocco staff handled language instruction
Six of seven enrolled students were visiting (non-Middlebury) students, showing how one institution's Schools-Abroad emergency response covers a multi-campus cohort
Outcome
All seven students (only one of whom is matriculated at Middlebury) relocated from Amman to Rabat within about 24 hours and continued the semester, with some courses taught by Jordanian faculty over Zoom. No injuries.
Provenance

Sources

  1. Student Paper
    Middlebury School in Jordan relocated to Morocco amidst war in region - The Middlebury Campus
    middleburycampus.com
  2. Student Paper
    Students studying abroad in Jordan relocated to Morocco amid war in Iran - The Brown Daily Herald
    browndailyherald.com
  3. News
    Iran Threats Against U.S. Institutions Lead to Closures - Inside Higher Ed
    insidehighered.com
Tags
study-abroadjordaniran-war-2026relocationmoroccovermontadvisory
Added May 2026Updated May 2026Via ingestion