{"id":19536,"date":"2020-05-19T09:43:40","date_gmt":"2020-05-19T16:43:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=19536"},"modified":"2020-05-19T09:45:27","modified_gmt":"2020-05-19T16:45:27","slug":"camosun-college-gives-more-detail-on-fall-plans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2020\/05\/19\/camosun-college-gives-more-detail-on-fall-plans\/","title":{"rendered":"Camosun College gives more detail on fall plans"},"content":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, May 14, Camosun College announced that it would be delivering a mix of online and in-person classes in the fall, noting that in-person classes are only possible if rates of COVID-19 transmission in BC remain low or in decline.<\/p>\n

Camosun vice president of education John Boraas says that there\u2019s a lot the college is concerned about right now. For example, Boraas says there is currently about 75 percent of the amount of international students enrolled in this summer semester compared to summer 2019 (a study permit cannot be issued for distance learning, and distance learning does not require one). But Boraas also says that it\u2019s a pretty consistent trend that when the economy takes a downturn, domestic-student enrolment goes up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe School of Business, this year, for domestic students over the summer has a fairly significant increase in numbers,\u201d he says. \u201cWe\u2019re curious what\u2019s going to happen in the fall with student numbers. International, obviously, is affected by the fact that no one can get here.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Camosun College vice president of education John Boraas (photo by Camosun College A\/V Services).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Boraas says post-secondary institutions around the world are being hit hard; he calls it \u201ca frightening reality.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAs much as we love our students, they also are part of our physical structures,\u201d he says. \u201cWith drops come budget realties.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boraas says the college is working really closely with government right now, and believes\u2014although it has not been finalized\u2014that they will be given some tools to get through the current situation. (Other provinces have made cuts to post-secondary budgets.)<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernment has, from the outset, identified post-secondary as a critical part of not only moving through the pandemic but also then for the future of the economy, for us to be able to continue to have students moving into the system,\u201d he says. \u201cThey want to be sure we\u2019re able to navigate this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Most likely, for phase three of the provincial government\u2019s re-opening plan, Camosun will offer courses that don\u2019t involve any or much hands-on work\u2014such as, for example, creative writing\u2014online, while classes that require more in-person training\u2014like those in trades, health, and sports and exercise programs\u2014will be in person.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt its simplest, that\u2019s accurate,\u201d says Boraas. \u201cThe health authorities have asked us to have as few students on campus as is possible while keeping things running\u2026 We\u2019ve asked programs, faculties, schools to schedule for fall as much as possible using distance technology.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boraas says that the college is also looking at \u201cbringing together in small groups\u201d students from programs who may be more in need of supports, such as lower-level access programs, as well as, if the province continues to move ahead in its plan, students in programs that could be held fully online. But this all depends on COVID-19 transmission rates, and is a decision for later in the summer, says Boraas.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of the things that I love about Camosun is the relationship that exists between faculty and students,\u201d he says, \u201cand if there\u2019s anything we can do to nudge toward that kind of presence, we will, but it\u2019s going to be a decision made a little later in the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n

If that decision is made, it would be done with physical distancing, sanitizing stations, and possibly, according to an email sent out by the college on May 7, \u201cdaily screening protocol for all staff and students.\u201d<\/p>\n

The college is currently dealing with how best to bring the dental students back before they miss their accreditation cycle, says Boraas. Dental already uses personal protective equipment, but the appropriate signs and markers\u2014like the ones currently in grocery stores\u2014must be put up, says Boraas, and a system to safely enter and exit the building, and regular room sanitizing, must be implemented.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of those are parts of what we do,\u201d says Boraas. \u201cPerhaps one of the reasons we find it so hard, [the virus] does prevent our natural social inclinations\u2026 It\u2019s a very strange thing to kind of deconstruct our activities.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On Thursday, May 14, Camosun College announced that it would be delivering a mix of online and in-person classes in the fall, noting that in-person classes are only possible if rates of COVID-19 transmission in BC remain low or in decline. Camosun vice president of education John Boraas says that there\u2019s a lot the college […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":19538,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-webexclusive","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19536","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19536"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19536\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19537,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19536\/revisions\/19537"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/19538"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19536"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19536"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19536"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}