I want to provide an update on the College’s requirements for those who are required to attend work or academic activities in person at our Ottawa, Perth, and Pembroke campuses.
The change is based on recent lifting of most provincial restrictions, advice from our public health and government officials as it pertains to high vaccination rates, population immunization and high efficacy of vaccines, as well as feedback from our employees and learners.
Algonquin College will, contingent on current state of the pandemic and corresponding public health considerations, be implementing the following changes to our COVID-19 policies and procedures effective May 01, 2022:
OTTAWA (APRIL 4, 2022) – As announced today by the Canada Research Coordinating Committee, Algonquin College and the CHEO Research Institute have received a $234,492 grant from the Government of Canada’s New Frontiers in Research Fund (NFRF) to further collaborative research.
Delivered through the Canada Research Coordinating Committee (CRCC) and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), funding is provided through the 2021 NFRF Innovative Approaches to Research in the Pandemic Context competition, which supports Canadian-led research in a post-pandemic context.
The joint application, titled Transforming Health Information, Research, and Scholarship through Technology and Teamwork (NFRFR-2021-00176), explores the novel systematic review (SR) methodology developed by the research team. Specifically, the funding will support integration of a hybrid machine learning human screening approach and real-world validation of the online software platform.
I am pleased to announce that The College Employer Council and OPSEU/SEFPO have reached an agreement to enter binding interest arbitration, and that the strike that was scheduled to commence at 12:01am on Friday March 18, 2022, is called off. This also includes all work-to-rule activities.
I am grateful to all those who contributed to this resolution. Our entire College community – every employee and learner – has made many sacrifices during the last two years, and we have overcome many obstacles together. The news of this agreement is another example of the commitment we all share for providing quality education for our learners.
Please see the full joint statement from The College Employer Council and OPSEU/SEFPO at this link.
Given recent changes to Provincial guidelines on COVID-19 restrictions, I want to provide an update on the College’s requirements going forward.
The College’s active screening requirements at campus entry points will remain in place until at least the end of the Winter term.
All those required to attend our campuses in-person must wear a mask until at least the end of the Winter term.
Any changes to our policy will be communicated directly with employees and learners.
A reminder, that with consideration for the ongoing health and safety of those required to attend our campuses – and in line with Ontario’s 24 Colleges – Algonquin College is maintaining its vaccine policy until at least the end of 2022 Winter term.
Thank you for your ongoing commitment to the health, safety and wellbeing of our college community, and please stay safe.
OTTAWA – (March 2, 2022) – Syntax Strategic, a marketing, public affairs, and government relations firm, has announced a five-year $50,000 award in partnership with Algonquin College. The goal of this award is to create a pipeline of talent from programs such as communications, marketing, and design and cast the broadest net possible with preference going to Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Colour (BIPOC) students to encourage more diversity in the public relations field. The Syntax Strategic Award will be awarded annually to two students in their final year of studies. Each student will receive $5,000 plus a paid summer internship opportunity.
This new award comes in the wake of companies publicly struggling to find talent and diverse candidates due to the mass exodus of people from the workforce due to COVID-19. CEO and founder of Syntax Strategic Jennifer Stewart decided it was time for a fresh approach to finding new talent and ideas: “If we want diversity in agencies, we need to invest in it. We can no longer sit back and hope that the right candidate with the right skills and background falls into our laps. We are building the future workforce we need, and we hope other businesses do the same.”
Algonquin College has more than 50 years of experience educating, training, upskilling and reskilling students and workers for the careers of today and tomorrow. The College works with employers to understand their staffing needs, challenges, and timelines – and prepare workers with the right skills at the right time.
With careful consideration for the ongoing health and safety of those required to attend our campuses – and in line with Ontario’s 24 Colleges – Algonquin College will be maintaining its vaccine policy until at least the end of Winter term 2022. This includes maintaining our proof of vaccination requirement.
This decision comes after thorough discussions with local public health officials and the Chief Medical Officer of Health over the past week. As the Province lifted capacity limits in all remaining indoor public settings and discontinued vaccine passports as of March 1, it also provided businesses and other settings the choice to continue to require proof of vaccination.
Until further notice, our vaccination policy will remain unchanged – this includes providing proof of vaccination (two approved doses) or a valid exemption (as set out in our policy) and continued screening before being permitted entrance to our campuses. Masks also continue to be required until further notice. Please see this link for details on our policy and its requirements.
OTTAWA (February 28, 2022) – Algonquin College has formed a new partnership with CDI College. The partnership licenses CDI College to deliver select Algonquin College programs to students at its four campuses in the Greater Toronto Area of Ontario, beginning in Mississauga in the fall of 2022.
CDI College, a private career college, opened its first campus in Toronto in 1969 and operates campuses across Canada with over 14,000 students. “We change lives through education” has remained its founding principle after over 50 years delivering hands-on, applied learning programs in the fields of business, technology, education, health care, legal studies, and arts and design.
“We are excited to be entering this agreement with CDI College, a partner with a commitment to educational excellence and sharing the same core values of caring and respecting learners that we adhere to at Algonquin College. The potential for positive outcomes with this agreement is significant and includes collaboration in recruitment and innovative program delivery,” said Claude Brulé, Algonquin College President and CEO.
The news and images coming from Ukraine are devastating and I want to reach out to all those in our College Community who may be affected by this unfolding tragedy.
We have learners from both Ukraine and Russia currently enrolled and registered at the College. I know that some of our learners and employees also have friends and/or family directly affected by these events. I can confirm that our International Education Centre has directly connected by email with all of our students from Ukraine and Russia, and has offered them support.
If you or someone you know needs assistance – counselling services and supports are available. Please reach out to this link to find College supports for both learners and employees and the Government of Canada information page. AC Resources and Supports | Student Support Services (algonquincollege.com)
February 24, 2022 OTTAWA PEMBROKE and PERTH, ON –Claude Brulé, President and CEO, Algonquin College, announced today five names of Ottawa community leaders who will be awarded honorary degrees at the College’s Spring Convocation.
“We are proud to recognize and celebrate this accomplished group of community leaders”, said Mr. Brulé. “Their contributions to their individual fields have enriched the lives of many and we are pleased to recognize their incredible achievements.”
The honorees are:
Faculty of Arts, Media and Design
Catherine Clark, Co-Founder, The Honest Talk
AC Online
Goldy Hyder, President & CEO, Business Council of Canada
Faculty of Health, Community Studies and Public Safety (Health)
Alex Munter, President and CEO, Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO)
Faculty of Health, Community Studies and Public Safety (Community Studies)
This week, the Province of Ontario announced that it is moving forward with its next step in their reopening plan to cautiously lift some public health measures a few days earlier than expected, with additional restrictions being removed effective today (February 17, 2022).
The changes include increasing social gathering limits to 50 people indoors and 100 people outdoors, and increasing organized public event limits to 50 people indoors, with no limit outdoors. The Provincial announcement can be found at this link.
The Province has indicated that its decision is based on COVID-19 positivity rates falling and new admissions to hospitals and Intensive Care Units declining week over week.
The Province also announced this week – that if indicators continue to improve – it intends to take additional steps to ease public health measures effective March 1, 2022. This includes lifting capacity limits in all remaining indoor public settings. Ontario also plans to lift proof of vaccination requirements for all settings at that time. Should that be the case, this means that as of March 1 – as per Provincial direction – vaccine passports at the College will be discontinued. However, all screening requirements will remain in place for those who need to attend our campuses.
OTTAWA – (March 2, 2022) – Syntax Strategic, a marketing, public affairs, and government relations firm, has announced a five-year $50,000 award in partnership with Algonquin College. The goal of this award is to create a pipeline of talent from programs such as communications, marketing, and design and cast the broadest net possible with preference going to Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Colour (BIPOC) students to encourage more diversity in the public relations field. The Syntax Strategic Award will be awarded annually to two students in their final year of studies. Each student will receive $5,000 plus a paid summer internship opportunity.