On-campus learning returns but Lethbridge post-secondary schools prepared to pivot
Both Lethbridge College and the University of Lethbridge are preparing to return to on-campus learning this fall, although with COVID-19 numbers rising, the schools are prepared to pivot if necessary.
Fourth-year automotive student Phoenix Cant was among hundreds who were back on campus at Lethbridge College on Monday.
Cant said it felt good to be back after taking her second and third-year courses online due to COVID-19.
“It’s phenomenally better to be back in the classroom,” said Cant.
“It’s a little bit easier for communication with the teachers.”
Students in the Trades, Technology and Innovation Facility were the first to return to school, with most other programs resuming next week.
The University of Lethbridge is also preparing to return to in-class learning after switching to a mostly online delivery model last fall.
“We anticipate 90 per cent of classes will be face-to-face,” said U of L president Mike Mahon.
The University of Calgary allowed professors to move courses online as recently as Aug. 20, raising concerns from the U of C Students Union.
In a news release, the University of Calgary Students Union said the sudden course changes had “pulled the rug out” from under thousands of students.
With less than two weeks until the start of the fall semester, many students, especially international students, had spent money on flights, housing and parking spaces, to find out their in-person classes had moved online.
In February, the University of Lethbridge announced that students should prepare to be back on campus in the fall.
Mahon said that continues to be their goal.
We know our students want to be face-to-face,” said Mahon. “We’re a destination university, and so many of students come from away.”
At the same time, the university will continue to monitor what is happening in the province and region from a health and safety perspective.
“We hope we don’t have to do any pivoting, but we pivoted a year and a half ago, and we’re prepared if need be to move some courses online.," said Mahon.
While many Albertans were hoping for things to be closer to normal this fall, COVID-19 variants have recently led to an increase in cases.
The university had previously announced that there would be mandatory masking on campus and stipulated those who were not vaccinated would have to undergo regular rapid testing.
Discussions around COVID-19 protocols are continuing, and the U of L said the final plan would be announced prior to classes resuming next week.
Since the start of the pandemic Lethbridge College has changed or updated its COVID-19 guidelines nine times. Lethbridge College president Paula Burns said institutions would have to remain flexible as they determine how to offer as many course experiences on campus as possible, while ensuring the health of its students, faculty and staff.
Now into her final year of schooling, Cant is hoping she can finish her automotive course in the classroom.
“It’s a very hands-on industry,” she added.
“So it is a lot nicer to be physically here, to see how things are going and be able to do it yourself as well.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Large numbers of New York City police officers begin entering Columbia University campus
Large numbers of New York City police officers began entering the Columbia University late Tuesday as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters remained on the campus.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.
Baby, grandparents among 4 people killed in wrong-way police chase on Ontario's Hwy. 401
A police chase which started with a liquor store robbery in Bowmanville Monday night ended in tragedy some 20 minutes later when a suspect fleeing police entered Highway 401 in the wrong direction and caused a pileup which killed an infant and the child's grandparents, as well as the suspect, investigators say.
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Sword-wielding man attacks passersby in London, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring 4 others
A man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers in a northeast London suburb Tuesday, killing a 14-year-old boy and injuring four other people, British authorities said.
Man dies after suffering cardiac arrest while waiting in ER, widow wants investigation
When an ambulance took David Lippert to the hospital in March of 2023, the 68-year-old Kitchener, Ont., executive was hoping to find out why he was feeling weak and unable to walk. Some 24 hours later, he was found unresponsive in the ER.
CSE says it shared information on Chinese hacking of parliamentarians in 2022
While several MPs and senators say they were only recently made aware of China-backed hackers targeting them, the Communications Security Establishment, one of Canada's intelligence agencies, says it shared information about the incident with parliamentary officials in June of 2022.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Eviction for landlord's use was legitimate, despite owners' partial move, B.C. court rules
A B.C. judge has upheld the eviction of a family from their North Vancouver townhouse, finding that the landlords did not take an unreasonable amount of time to move into the home after the tenants vacated it.