ISSUE 190. 5 | NEWS
THEONTARION.COM
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Students, faculty raise concerns with U of G’s plans for in-person fall semester Due to community concerns over the lack of accommodations for the fall 2021 semester, the Guelph Campus Coalition has created a list of demands for a safe return to campus ELENI KOPSAFTIS
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n March 22, the office of the provost and vice-president (academic) sent a mass email to U of G students detailing the school’s plans to have students back on campus for the fall 2021 semester. The email referred to “positive developments” with vaccine rollout and the advice of local health officials as main factors that inspired the school’s plans for an in-person semester, and Associate Vice-President (Academic) Cate Dewey told The Ontarion that the university is planning to “respond accordingly if there are capacity limitations to our classrooms and facilities.” There will also be a “similar number” of distance education courses offered as in the previous fall semester, and some classes will have synchronous or asynchronous remote delivery with the exception of laboratories and seminars which will require students to be on campus. Technological upgrades are being made to some classrooms to facilitate remote access of in-person courses. But given the amount of students uncomfortable with attending university in-person due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Central Students Association (CSA) and other U of G community members are expressing concern. According to CSA VP External Horeen Hassan, a CSA meeting with the vice provost of student affairs was held in which students who were uncomfortable attending in-person classes were encouraged to enroll in distance education classes instead. Dewey confirmed this and encouraged students to return to campus if, when the time comes, the local health unit has deemed
it safe to do so, “to ensure that they have access to all courses in their program.” According to Hassan, there has been “little to no consultation with any of the unions (students nor workers) on campus.” In contrast, Dewey told The Ontarion “the Return-to-Campus Planning Committee consists of members across our constituencies, some of whom work with union, student, and employee groups and bring those perspectives to the table.” Further, Dewey says consultations with the employee groups are currently underway, and undergraduate and graduate student dialogue, such as with the CSA and other student groups, is ongoing. Despite this, student concerns over in-person class delivery remain, and it’s expected that those who will be most affected will be those with health or accessibility challenges, those who are immunocompromised, and international students who have left the country.
Horeen Hassan is VP external of the Central Students Association (CSA). Amid fall 2021 semester concerns, she and other CSA members are advocating for student and faculty accommodations on campus. CREDIT: HOREEN HASSAN
Additionally, the email sent out by the university indicated that it would be up to the professor to incorporate online accommodations. For professors, the Office of Teaching and Open Learning and Educational Sup-
The U of G community must be given a clear understanding of what the fall 2021 semester will look like since its members deserve to make informed decisions about their learning environment. “Some [students] might not be in a financial position to return to Guelph for in-person learning, while others might be in countries that have handled the pandemic much better than Canada has,” said Hassan.
port will be available for support and resources. Dewey states that professors using “new technology” in their classroom will be supported as well, though no specifics to these particular supports were given.
Due to potential accommodation issues, the Guelph Campus Coalition has since created a lobby document outlining U of G students and workers’ concerns regarding the university’s current plans to return to campus. The document states that the U of G community must be given a clear understanding of what the fall 2021 semester will look like since its members deserve to make informed decisions about their learning environment. To make the school’s plans more transparent, the document urges U of G to provide a timeline for when decisions will be made, how those decisions will be made, and the “benchmarks” that will have to be met for specific activities to take place. To further accommodate students and professors, it is also advised that U of G provide smaller classes, hire more instructors and
teacher’s assistants (TAs), and offer technical support on a needs basis to instructors and TAs. “Safety is a top priority and not everyone is fully confident that things will or can ‘go back to normal’ in the fall,” said Hassan. “Some students are not comfortable returning to campus in the fall, whether it be due to safety, or accessibility concerns.”
To learn more about the Guelph Campus Coalition’s demands for a safe return to campus this coming fall, consult the lobby document on the CSA’s website.
