Message from the President: March 31 COVID-19 Update

Posted on Wednesday, April 1st, 2020

March 31, 2020

Dear Colleagues and Learners,

I have more news to share with you today, but first I want to take a moment to thank some incredible people — your family members. I know I have thanked you, our learners and employees, many times. But I don’t want another day go by without acknowledging the spouses, partners, siblings, parents, children and others who are supporting you so that you can do the important work you’re doing. Whether it is the caring partner who prepares your meal so you can get ready for a test or exam, or a thoughtful roommate who brings you a coffee so that you can join your video call, or the child who patiently waits for you to finish your work before you can organize a new activity. I want you to know that I am well aware of the sacrifices everyone is making on the home front, and I thank you all for this.

 

On March 15, we announced the cancellation of all College events until the end of April. As much as we are anxious to resume these activities and events, we now know that we are going to have to extend that date in order to make the health and safety of our College community, and all our many visitors, a priority. For this reason, we are now cancelling all events at Algonquin College up to and including June 30, 2020. This deadline may be revised as we learn more about how the pandemic is unfolding, and we will notify you of any updates as soon as they are available.

I also want to advise our learners and potential learners that deposit-fee deadlines for the Spring/Summer terms have been extended from April 1 to April 15, 2020. Returning students will have until June 8, 2020 to pay the balance of fees due. Students can access their fee information through the student portal, including how to pay from home via electronic transfer.

Finally, I want to thank everyone for your feedback, which continues to shape our response. Please know that your comments are heard and directed to the appropriate department for immediate action. On that note, I also thank you for your patience. We are dealing with many scenarios that are not only new to you, but new to all of us as well. It sometimes takes us longer than we would like to provide you with the answers you are seeking. I want to assure you that our teams always act as quickly as possible to provide the most accurate information to resolve your issues — so that you can make informed decisions and get back to your work or studies.

I will update you again later this week, but until then, please do check our redesigned COVID-19 website for all the latest news and information for our College community.


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