Eastern Ontario colleges and universities announce return dates for in-person learning
As Ontario announces the loosening of restrictions, colleges and universities across the region are confirming when students will be able to return to in-person learning.
The University of Ottawa will be the first in the national capital region to welcome all students back, with a return date set for Jan. 31. The resumption of in-class activities at Carleton University is set for Feb. 7. Queen's University in Kingston will be waiting until Feb. 28 before full in-person academics resumes.
For Algonquin College students in Ottawa, Pembroke, and Perth, the plan isn't as clear. Keltie Jones, Dean of Algonquin College's Pembroke campus, says there is a plan to examine a return to class following Algonquin's winter break at the end of February.
"We will be looking at what some of those options will be for bringing some of those more theory-based courses back to campus after our winter break," Jones tells CTV New Ottawa.
Algonquin College's Pembroke campus is unique in the fact that roughly two thirds of the college's 900 student population are still attending in-person classes in some capacity, according to Jones. That's due to the specifically hands on programs offered in the valley, such as carpentry and arborculture.
But Samuel Beehler, a student enrolled in the Outdoor Adventure Naturalists program, says he has only attended virtual classes since returning this semester.
"We're doing wilderness first aid at the moment," explains Beehler. "And that's something that you're typically in-person for and working with dummies so that you can get a feel for how the human body works. And you can't do that virtually."
Without a date locked in for Algonquin College, Beehler is hoping that at least some of his time at college will be spend in a classroom.
"I hope we're able to get to a full classroom - not even without restrictions - just at least in the classroom rather than in your home in front of a computer screen."
"I think the most important thing is that we maintain our flexibility, we maintain our adaptability," says Jones about the plan to bring students back to campus. "And we keep the safety and learning conditions for our learners in mind for everything that we do."
Originally from Ottawa, Beehler lives in the student housing accommodations a few hundred metres from the school. He only stopped by Thursday to pick up a book for class.
"This is my time in college and I can guarantee you I'm not coming back here and the fact that I'm robbed of the college experience of being in there, it's upsetting."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.