As detailed in the College’s Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy Addendum (Policy HS16), alternate safety protocols are being administered for eligible College Community Members who have not achieved a full COVID-19 Vaccination status (required number of doses plus a 14- day wait period) and are required to attend on-campus or in-person activities.
Negative results from Rapid Antigen Tests are being relied upon to provide a high level of assurance that a College Community Member is not carrying the COVID-19 virus if the Member is not fully vaccinated.
To support this requirement, Algonquin College is beginning to offer Rapid Antigen Tests to eligible College Community Members starting Thursday, September 9th.
As a result of additional information received from Colleges Ontario today and a subsequent Algonquin College Executive Team meeting, there are two key changes in our Mandatory Vaccination Policy protocols that are crucial to be aware of. These changes are being made immediately, in recognition of the timing challenges for start-up on Tuesday.
the following temporary change has been made, in conformance with guidance from the Chief Medical Officer of Health. From September 7th to September 12th, inclusive, persons who are not fully vaccinated only need to provide proof of a single rapid antigen test within the past 48 hours to gain access to campus. Effective September 13th, the policy requirement of 2 rapid antigen tests during the previous seven (7) days will be applied.
Persons who have tested positive for COVID-19, using a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, during the past 90 days are not recommended for rapid antigen testing. In these cases, in order to gain access to campus, persons will be required to show both a positive PCR test for COVID-19 dated in the last 90 days as well as documentation from a public health unit that indicates they have completed self-isolation requirements and are cleared. After 90 days from the date of the test has elapsed, persons who remain unvaccinated will be required to produce proof of 2 negative rapid antigen tests in the previous seven (7) days each time they require access to campus, unless they become fully vaccinated.
Algonquin College has implemented the use of a digital Vaccine Passport using our existing AC Mobile Safety App. This tool supports the Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination policy, which has been introduced in response to provincial regulations and public health requirements to help ensure the safety and well-being of the College community and to promote education and awareness regarding vaccination. Implementing the use of the Vaccine Passport App will enhance the existing health and safety measures and improve coordination of access at all campuses.
If you already have the AC Mobile Safety App on your mobile phone, you will see a clickable link at the bottom of the screen to update the version of the app you have. The new version includes a COVID-19 Vaccine Passport option. If you do not already have the app, you can download the AC Mobile Safety App for an iOS or Android mobile phone by using this link: https://apparmor.apparmor.com/clients/algonquincollege.com/
I want to update you with the latest details on the College’s Mandatory Vaccination Policy – originally announced last week.
I know many of you have urgent questions regarding this policy and its impact, and I want to sincerely thank you for your patience. While some implementation details are still being finalized, you can read the official policy here, and visit our FAQ for more information.
Our mandatory vaccination policy applies to all learners, employees, contractors and visitors attending in-person activities at our campuses or off-campus locations leased by the College such as Corporate Training Services at 700 Sussex Drive in Ottawa and Employment Services Offices operated by the College. In-person activities include participation in academic instruction, accessing services or attending organized events. The College’s new policy responds to regulatory requirements to implement public health guidance calling for post-secondary institutions to require proof of full COVID-19 vaccination for those attending campuses.
The College is implementing the use of a digital, proof-of-vaccination feature within the Algonquin College Mobile Safety App – which is already being used for COVID-19 self-screening purposes. Information on how to download the app is available here; the app’s proof of vaccination feature will be available Wednesday, September 1. If you already have the app, you will be prompted on the screen to update your settings once the vaccine module is launched
Our Mandatory Vaccination Policy only applies to those attending in-person activities. If you are studying or working remotely, and not planning to attend campus, please do not use the App to submit proof of vaccination. The College does not require your proof of vaccination.
Algonquin College’s pedestrian bridge lit up the night sky with all the colours of the rainbow on Sunday (August 22) to help recognize the start of Capital Pride Week.
“To celebrate the beginning of Capital Pride Week and show the city our true colours, we are lighting up our Woodroffe Avenue pedestrian bridge in vibrant, rainbow colour for the very first time. For one week, rainbow lights will illuminate this walkway each and every night, declaring our pride in and support for our 2SLGBTQ+ learners, employees, and community members,” said Claude Brulé, Algonquin College President and CEO.
The rainbow colours of the bridge will offer many in the 2SLGBTQ+ community hope, said Osmel B. Guerra Maynes, the Executive Director of Capital Pride, who spoke to those gathered to help celebrate the flicking of the switch on the bridge.
“A lot of folks within our communities sometimes just need that glimmer of hope, and to walk or drive down this street and see this bridge lit-up can offer that. This bridge can give hope to folks, that if I am not accepted in my own home, I can be still be accepted in my own community and live my authentic life,” said Maynes.
Emily Ferguson, President of the Algonquin Students’ Association said that “lighting the Woodroffe pedestrian bridge in rainbow colours shows the Ottawa community some of our best qualities here at Algonquin College – accepting of one another, celebrating differences, and respecting the freedom to love.”
Jeremy Roberts, MPP for Ottawa West-Nepean, attended the official lighting ceremony and told those gathered that “it is so fitting that as we mark the beginning of celebrations for Capital Pride that Algonquin is lighting up this beautiful pedestrian bridge that welcomes people. It really shows that we are totally embracing this celebration of diversity and sending a signal right out across the city that we respect diversity and respect people to live as they wish to live.”
Capital Pride is taking place August 22 – 29. This year’s festival will include both virtual and in-person events, allowing participants to enjoy programming at home and outdoors. This year’s celebrations have the theme – ‘We Still Demand’ – which honours the first large-scale queer rights demonstration in Canada in 1971. You can learn more at capitalpride.ca
To watch the video of the lighting ceremony please check here
Driven by new public health recommendations and the growing impact of COVID-19 variants of concern, Algonquin College has decided to implement a mandatory vaccination policy for the Fall 2021 Term.
All learners, employees, contractors and visitors will require proof of COVID-19 vaccination – unless exempted – in order to attend in-person activities at our campuses in Ottawa, Pembroke and Perth. This includes those learners living in our Residence on the Ottawa Campus.
Starting September 7, the College will require those accessing our campuses to show proof they have received at least one dose of an approved COVID-19 vaccine – with a second-dose vaccination requirement to follow by October 12 at the latest.
A small group assembled in the DARE District Tuesday to recognize the contributions of PCL Construction to Algonquin College with a ceremonial plaque dedication.
Welcomed by Mark Savenkoff, Vice President, Advancement, the participants admired the new plaque, shared a few words and then visited the Three Sisters Garden. The DARE District, Three Sisters Garden and the Algonquin Centre for Construction Excellence (ACCE) have all been generously supported by PCL Construction.
“PCL is special in the sense that not only have they built several of our College buildings but they have expressed an ongoing interest in becoming more familiar with Indigenous culture and we are thrilled to share in their journey,” said Claude Brulé, President and CEO of Algonquin College. “After their original contribution of $50,000 to the DARE District, they pledged $216,000 over six years to the DARE6 initiative, which supports Indigenization efforts on our campus – such as plans currently under development to expand our Three Sisters Garden.”
At the event, Algonquin students exhibit forward-looking research and technology projects produced in collaboration with industry, institutional and community partners to offer innovative solutions to everyday problems.
From a joint effort with CHEO on a web application that connects parents of Pediatric Intensive Care Unit patients to hospital research studies, to an online tool that allows you to calculate home renovation costs before you hire a contractor, these projects offer a glimpse of the future.
This is the second part of a two-part feature on the impact graduates of Algonquin College’s Perth Campus have on the surrounding community.
Algonquin’s Perth campus is located on a leafy green lota short drive from Perth’s heritage downtown, and featuresan airy student commons area, numerousstudent-constructed outbuildings, a tool lending library, and a joinery shop.
It’s some of these unique features—such as the joinery shop—which produce graduates who help give shape to the aesthetics of Lanark County over the course of their careers. Jason Gibson, a graduate of Perth’s Heritage Carpentry & JoineryProgram (1996), is one of them.
Gibson, who is originally from Verona, a small community north of Kingston, now lives just outside of Perth, and is the owner of Jason Gibson’s School of Timber Framing, which specializes in teaching the art of traditional timber framing and has been a community mainstay for 20 years.
When Amy Ayers graduated from Perth Campus’ Personal Support Work program in 2018, she had no idea she would soon find herself on the front lines of a raging pandemic. As a Personal Support Worker in an Almonte long-term care home that was one of the first in Ontario to suffer a widespread, deadly outbreak of COVID-19, Ayers played a critical role in the battle against the virus.
Since those first chaotic months, she has dedicated herself to raising awareness about the pandemic’s impact on the mental health of PSWs and health care workers in long-term care. Ayers says there can be a culture of silence and stoicism in the field that keeps many PSWs from seeking help. She has encouraged co-workers—and, by sharing her story publicly, all PSWs—to seek counselling, stressing the risk of PTSD.
A small group assembled in the DARE District Tuesday to recognize the contributions of PCL Construction to Algonquin College with a ceremonial plaque dedication.
