Following in the footsteps of some of Canada’s other large universities, UBC announced today that it will be beginning Term 2 of this school year with ‘most courses’ taking place virtually. The news comes after a couple of tough weeks, where the university drew heat for continuing with in-class testing.
In an open letter posted by President Dr. Santa Ono, the university presented its plan. The letter kicked off with a reference to provincial-level guidance that came out just yesterday, which reaffirmed that in-class learning could continue.
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COVID-19: Planning for 2021/22 Winter Session, Term 2 at #UBC https://t.co/IRgKpRDmnK pic.twitter.com/AHvYpafZOB
— UBC Media Relations (@ubcnews) December 22, 2021
But today, UBC has decided to change its trajectory. While classes will begin as scheduled (January 4th or 10th), most of them will be taking place online. The exceptions? Classes that include “experiential, performance or studio components”, but those will also have “appropriate safety protocols in place”.
Meanwhile, UBC campuses will continue to operate as normal, with student housing, services, and libraries all staying open. The new measures are set to be in place until January 24th, but UBC will be releasing another update about the plan in early January. We’ll keep you posted when it happens!