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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.