THUNDER BAY – At a recent event, the Minister of Colleges and Universities, Ross Romano, said that the situation surrounding the pandemic is changing daily, making it hard to offer a definitive vision of what campuses in the province will look like in September. In an effort to establish clarity and direction for our students and employees, Confederation College has determined that we must move forward with a plan to offer hybrid programming for the fall semester.
Preparing for a new academic year is a significant process and while this year will look different from previous years, we are committed to ensuring it will be equally successful for our students. Confederation College has been working hard to prepare a framework that will support our students’ learning experience and ensure they receive the exceptional quality of education for which we are known, regardless of the delivery model. We are also prepared to offer our students, employees and entire College community a safe learning and working environment by aligning our safety protocols with those recommended by federal and provincial governments and our public health authorities.
The following is an overview of our current plan for program delivery and semester completion:
Winter 2020 Semester (January – April 2020)
For all students who were unable to complete their program studies or graduate during the winter semester, Confederation College intends to schedule students to return to labs and work placements as soon as permissible. School administrators and/or Program Coordinators will contact impacted students as new information becomes available.
Spring/Summer Semester (May – August 2020)Students in the spring semester are following a 6-1-6 format. We are currently offering the first six weeks of the semester using online/alternate delivery. After the Student Success Week break, and with the approval from public health officials, some labs will commence in a face-to-face format where online/alternate delivery is not possible. Specific dates for the practical component will be confirmed directly with impacted students as new information becomes available.
Fall Semester (September – December 2020)
During the fall semester, Confederation College will return to a standard 7-1-7 format, delivering all theory programming remotely. Where possible, some labs and/or placements may be delivered face-to-face, ensuring physical distancing protocols are followed.
Programs with work or clinical placements as a requirement of study, in which students are unable to attend their placement due to pandemic restrictions, will see the placement deferred.
Those seeking on-campus residence accommodations for the fall may still apply at www.confederationresidence.ca. While we aren’t yet able to confirm the details about what on-campus residence will look like at that time based on COVID-19 considerations, we anticipate having new information to share with applicants in the coming weeks.
Confederation College is committed to providing the best educational experience for our students, while maintaining learning and working environments conducive to the health and safety of everyone. We continue to review all of our programming to ensure successful delivery. All decisions are based on our current knowledge of the trajectory of the pandemic; our plans may be adjusted as a result of the changing environment, and as new directives are received from federal and provincial governments and our public health authorities.
As new information becomes available and as campus reopening is able to take place, Confederation College will continue to provide updates to the College community via its dedicated webpage: www.confederationcollege.ca/COVID19.
