The University of Montreal has made the decision to keep the courses at a distance until at least January 17 without waiting for new directives from Quebec, which for the moment authorizes students to go to classrooms from the 10th. January. Other universities could follow suit.
“We will continue our activities remotely until at least January 17,” said the rector, Daniel Jutras, in a communication dated Thursday. A decision taken “by analyzing all the information available to date and with regard to the interests of our community: health and safety, first and foremost, but also the need for predictability”.
The teaching will therefore be done largely remotely as soon as classes resume on January 6. Another update will be sent no later than January 4 to take stock of post-January 17, depending on how the situation evolves. Internships, clinical activities, practical activities and laboratories will still be face-to-face, and the majority of services will remain open.
In an update sent Thursday afternoon, Université Laval asks the university community to “prepare for the activation of a fallback plan”. The first three weeks of the winter session could therefore be remote, from January 10 to 30. “This temporary fallback plan aims to ensure the safety and health of members of our community and to protect the continuity of teaching and research”, one writes. Students will be informed of the procedure to follow by January 5 at the latest.
At Concordia University, courses are scheduled to be distance learning until January 13. “We will monitor the situation closely and consult with public health authorities,” wrote a spokesperson. We will do a new evaluation in the week of January 3 ”.
On the side of the University of Quebec in Montreal (UQAM), the face-to-face re-entry is for the moment maintained on January 10, but the university says it is aware that the situation is evolving “from hour to hour”. “Following an extraordinary meeting of the Studies Commission and the Board of Directors, yesterday [mercredi], to anticipate and plan the preparation of the lessons, measures will be taken in the coming days to specify the nature of this term and to inform the members of our community of it, ”writes the spokesperson, Jenny Desrochers.
At the University of Sherbrooke, courses are currently in person as of January 10, unless a change in directive from the government.