Message from the President (July 28, 2021)
Posted on Wednesday, July 28th, 2021
July 28, 2021
Dear Colleagues and Learners:
As we approach the end of July, I want to provide another update about our evolving plans for the Fall Term.
To begin with, it is important to note that 48 per cent of Algonquin College’s programs will include some component of face-to-face activity in the Fall Term – as the College continues to gradually and safely expand academic activities on our campuses while adhering to public health guidelines. (As a reminder, program-delivery details can be found here.)
Secondly, I am happy to announce that progression to Step 3 of the Province’s COVID-19 reopening plan allows the College to increase events and activities on-campus, which may not have been previously permitted. It is still necessary that events and activities conform to various restrictions and health and safety protocols, as such there is an ongoing need for the College to maintain oversight over campus activities. To support this, employees who are organizing events or activities will be required to submit an online form at least 10 days ahead of any planned event.
Recent notice from the provincial government regarding postsecondary students potentially returning to campuses in the fall is contingent on two important criteria; continued increases in province-wide vaccination rates and favourable public health indicators. The Province of Ontario also intends to release an updated Postsecondary Education Public Health Measures Framework in early August 2021.
The Ministry of Colleges and Universities has also made it clear that colleges continue to have the flexibility to deliver academic instruction – including virtual and hybrid delivery models – that best suit the needs of their institution and community, and must continue to align with local public health guidance. This is all welcome news and we are looking forward to finding opportunities to continue to expand our on-campus population.
It is impossible to predict physical distancing requirements and how they could evolve throughout the fall amidst the continuing emergence of COVID-19 variants of concern. Case in point, learning spaces on our campuses are required to operate with consideration for physical distancing up to a maximum of 50% capacity under current Step 3 restrictions. After Step 3 is lifted, presently anticipated sometime around August 6th, we are simply unclear what the restrictions will include, if anything.
As previously noted, we created an academic plan for the fall that strove to offer fairness and certainty to our learners and academic programming teams, and while our fall academic plans remain firm, the College continues to examine opportunities to increase campus services and non-academic activities. We are also examining the feasibility of increasing select experiential learning opportunities.
There are reasons to be optimistic about the progress made against COVID-19, however we must continue to exercise caution as a College and put the health and safety of our employees and students first. Therefore, on-campus activity will continue to be limited to students required to attend campus for academic activities, accessing in-person campus service and attending organized events. Similarly, access to campuses for employees will be limited to those employees required to support such activities, attending organized events or other approved requirements.
Those employees and students required to access one of our campuses should first visit our Campus Access site for details on training, and self-screening and health and safety protocols – from physical distancing to mandatory mask use (for Pembroke Campus, visit here).
I cannot stress enough how important it is for the members of the College to contribute to the safety of our community by ensuring they are fully vaccinated. Ottawa Campus had great success with a small vaccination program in June and July. We are currently coordinating with Ottawa Public Health to potentially host additional pop-up clinics in September. In the meantime, I encourage the College community to visit our Vaccination Resources page. In addition, Algonquin College students are invited to attend a large vaccination clinic held by Ottawa Public Health at the University of Ottawa starting August 3rd to 22nd; watch your inboxes and Algonquin College’s social channels for details on this upcoming opportunity.
I want to thank you again for your ongoing patience, flexibility, and commitment to one another as we continue our progress towards a more normalized environment on our physical campuses. We will continue to update the College community with new information as it becomes available.
Sincerely,
Laura Stanbra
Vice President Student Services
On behalf of
Claude Brulé
President and CEO
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