Holland College 'confident' about reopening for classes

Holland College is ready to welcome students back to classes next month, six months after closingdue to COVID-19.

Officials with the college say they have been working on plans to adapt the spaces to meet public health and safety protocols.

"We're confident," saidJustin Dunn, director of facilities management at Holland College.

"We have a clean and safe working and learning environment and living environment for those students and residents as well."

The college closed its doors to in-class learning in mid-March, under the direction of P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Office. Students have continued with online classes but staff have been developing plans to resume in-class learning throughout the course of the pandemic.

In order to ensure public health and safety, the school has implemented a number of practices and procedures, including only allowing students and staff into buildings by means ofan access pass, which will help with contact tracing if it's necessary.

Significant changes

Dunn said there are a couple of significant changes to the sites.

Students will be expected to maintain two metres of physical distance from one another, with markingsplaced in halls and classrooms as guides to follow.

I think our staff has really come together and worked together to normalize things as much as possible. Justin Dunn, Holland College

Most of the classroom furniture has been removed and the desks have been separated to maintain the space.

The college said maskuse is strongly recommended, but in cases where physical distancing can't be maintained, such as in certain labs, they are mandatory.

"If you're sitting in your classroom at a seat that is physically distanced by six feet, you know and you're going to attend your class, of course, you're more than welcome to take them off in those areas," said Dunn.

Each classroom will have a sanitizing station for cleaning hands and work spaces. Dunn saidthe college has installed more than 230hand sanitizer units for all 15 locations across the province.

'Back in business'

Dunn saidonly half of the students are expected to return for in-class learning.

"There's a fork in the road [for] distance learning," Dunn said.

"Approximately one third of our students will be on that pathway of distance learning where they may not actually have to come on campus at all."

The college usually expects around 2,400 students in the fall, but this year officials are expecting only about 1,200 to come back.

"I think our staff has really come together and worked together to normalize things as much as possible," said Dunn.

"We're back in business. We never left business, but business does look a little bit different for us these days."

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