U of Manitoba will welcome some students back to campus in fall

The University of Manitoba willwelcomestudents back to campus next fall to an extent.

Large classes will continue remote learning, but classes with up to 20 students can go ahead with in-person learning as spaces on campus permit, the university announced Wednesday.Lab classes will either have a limit of 25 peopleor the "COVID room-capacity limit," whichever is smaller, university president Michael Benarrochsaid in a news release.

"In light of current public health advice and expectations on the vaccine rollout, we are planning to resume more in-person instruction this fall,"Benarrochsaid in the release.

"Our past experience has taught us that we need to remain cautious. The situation can change quickly, but this is what we believe is safe based on what we know right now."

The Uof M,like many other post-secondary schools, delivered the bulk of its classes this past school yearremotely or online.

"All work that can continue remotely should continue remotely," the university's Wednesday update said.

However,university staff units such as teaching andresearch staff can now increasethe number of staff on campus, up to a maximum of 40 per cent for each unit, according to the update.

The university's COVID-19 recovery steering committee will continue to look for ways to bring more people back to campus, as public health orders allow, the university said, and ithopes to announce a full return to campus for the winter term starting in January 2022.

Other post-secondary institutions in Manitoba are also having conversations about fall classes.

The University of Winnipeg is watching the vaccine rollout and is optimistic about the fall term, but no decisions have been made, said a university spokesperson.

Brandon University announced last week that its spring and summer courses will mainly be offeredonline. Only a certain number of courses that require in-person learning were approved by the university senate, according to a news release.

BU is currently planning for the fall 2021 term and all options are being considered, a university spokesperson told CBC, but the plans are being led by the public health science. The goal is to announce a course of action that doesn't require any backtracking, the southwestern Manitoba university said.

St. Boniface, RRC still working out plans

The University of St. Boniface is developing a written plan that explores various scenarios for the fall, but nothing is final yet, a spokesperson said.

"I can tell you that we will move forward shortly with announcements on this matter, and the terms surrounding it," the spokesperson said in French.

Red River College was told by public health officials that blended learning a mix of remote and in-person learning will have to be part of the college's operations for the rest of the 2021 calendar year,according to a February news release.

On Wednesday, a spokesperson told CBC News that the fall term at RRC will be blended.

"More details regarding how our programs will be offered through blended delivery will be available soon, as we're in the process of finalizing those plans now," the spokesperson said.

"Our approach will remain flexible to expand on-campus services and supports, should public health restrictions loosen further and allow such activities to take place without disrupting the blended delivery of our programs."

University College of the North, which has its main campuses in Thompson and The Pas, will have a decision in May, a spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, Assiniboine Community College plans on welcoming more students back in September, a spokesperson said.

Hands-on learning is necessary most of its programs, so the Brandon-based college which also has campuses in Dauphin and Winnipegadopted blended learning throughout the past year, the spokesperson said.

Assiniboine is "planning to offer as much on-campus activity as safely as possible this coming fall."

"We do not have program-by-program details at this time, but after a year of functioning in environments that have required us to operate both on campus and at a distance, we feel confident that we can safely welcome students into classrooms in-person to an even greater degree than we did this past academic year," the spokesperson said.

The college has a good student-to-faculty ratioand relatively small class sizes, the spokesperson said, but physical distancing remains the biggest hindrance to a full-scale return.