A directive from the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe was interpreted by teachers as an invitation to offer their courses at a distance despite the establishment being closed due to the snowstorm on Friday. This controversy has reignited the debate on the place of virtual teaching in CEGEPs after the pandemic.
“Face-to-face courses are suspended for the day in regular training and continuing education due to the closure of regional public transport services. Professors who will be able to switch their courses to virtual will inform their students directly, ”indicates a message posted Friday on the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe website.
This announced possibility of an offer of distance courses has made teachers jump, because the collective agreement regulates the circumstances allowing the use of virtual teaching. “The teachers’ union in Saint-Hyacinthe is in good shape because of this unilateral decision,” says Yves de Repentigny, vice-president responsible for the CEGEP group at the National Federation of Quebec Teachers (FNEEQ-CSN).
Any change to the terms of delivery of a course must be discussed with the Labor Relations Committee (CRT) of an establishment, which was not the case at the Cégep de Saint-Hyacinthe, according to the union. .
A misunderstanding
This controversy is due to a misunderstanding, argues the management of the establishment. “In the communication that we sent this morning after learning of the shutdown of public transport services, we wanted to make students aware of the fact that they would be notified by their teacher if the latter decided to give their teaching in virtual mode. This communication having been drafted in haste, we agree that it could lead to interpretation as to our intentions. We have already had internal discussions on this subject today and will continue our exchanges in the coming days in order to dispel any ambiguity on the question, ”says Hélène Gagné, acting director of communications for the cégep.
” [Nous] We have not instructed teachers to switch their classes today to virtual mode. In respect of the principle of pedagogical autonomy, they have the latitude to choose the way they wish to compensate for the fact that they cannot give their lessons as scheduled,” she explains.
Fear of Drift
This misunderstanding is indicative of a desire by CEGEPs to expand their offer of distance courses, believes Yves de Repentigny. Teachers understand the need to switch remotely because of the pandemic, but fear a drift into distance learning — an easy solution that requires little investment and pays off big.
“We are told between 25,000 and 30,000 more students in the college network within a decade, it can be tempting to create virtual courses rather than investing in expensive expansions,” says Yves de Repentigny.
For Samuel Vaillancourt, president of the Quebec Collegiate Student Federation (FECQ), the important thing is that “when a person chooses a face-to-face course, they have face-to-face teaching as much as possible”. Students are fine with distance learning because of the pandemic, but this solution will need to be framed in the future, he said.
He recalls that 10% of the student population does not have access to a laptop or a reliable Internet connection, and 27% does not have a quiet place conducive to virtual teaching.