The University of Victoria will provide most instruction online when the spring semester gets underway on Jan. 10.
Classes will be delivered online until Jan. 24 in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the university said.
“This approach provides certainty for students and instructors for the beginning of term, allows for our ongoing co-ordination and collaboration with Island Health and provides flexibility for our campus community, allowing for safe travel and transition for students back to campus,” said Denise Helm, acting executive director of UVic Communications.
During this two-week period, some courses, including those with essential clinical or other experiential, performance, studio or lab components, may continue in person with appropriate approvals by deans and safety protocols in place.
Instructors will contact students directly if their courses will include a face-to-face component between Jan. 10 and 24.
UVic cancelled in-person exams this month due to a cluster of over 120 COVID-19 cases linked to off-campus gatherings.
The University of B.C., Simon Fraser University and the University of Northern B.C. have also announced plans to start the upcoming term with online instruction for most courses — despite a letter from provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry “strongly recommend[ing] continuation of on-campus instruction.”
The letter, sent to the province’s post-secondary facilities Wednesday, says educational settings, including large classrooms, have been found to be a low risk for transmission of all COVID-19 variants of concern.
UVic has said that it has not had any cases of COVID-19 transmission in its classrooms for 22 months.
Thompson Rivers University in Kamloops said Thursday it would follow Henry’s recommendation and hold in-person classes to start the year, although it said staff and students should be prepared for the possibility of virtual or hybrid learning if the situation changes.
Nanaimo’s Vancouver Island University has said it “remains committed to and will continue to offer in-person classes and student support services in January 2022.”
British Columbia reported a record 2,046 new COVID-19 infections on Thursday.
— With files from The Canadian Press
