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Message from President Lachemi on planning for fall semester

The continued health and safety of the Ryerson community is top priority
Category:From the President
March 18, 2021
Ryerson campus in the winter.

The health and safety of the community remains the primary concern, and the university is closely monitoring COVID-19 case rates as scenario planning for fall 2021 continues.

With only a few weeks left in the academic term and increasing vaccination rates across Ontario, it is understandable that many of us have turned our attention to what fall 2021 may look like at Ryerson University.

As has been our commitment from the first day of the pandemic, ensuring the continued health and safety of our community remains our primary concern. We also know that our collective wellbeing is bolstered by insight into what might be coming next, and an understanding that things may return to something we are more familiar with.

The university is closely monitoring case rates of COVID-19 and the progress of vaccinations across our city and our province and we are continuing to actively plan for a number of scenarios for the 2021-22 academic year, including in-person, virtual and hybrid approaches.

Planning for fall

While many details continue to evolve, at this time the university is optimistic that we will be able to safely open our campus to some degree in the fall. This could include welcoming some members of our community back to campus for limited in-person activities such as small classes and labs, extra curricular activities, access to services and study space, and experiential learning opportunities. We continue to monitor provincial regulations related to physical distancing that could prohibit many in-person teaching activities from occurring and significantly curtail class sizes, necessitating many classes to be delivered remotely.  As an institution that has always put an exceptional student experience at the forefront of our commitments, we will continue to plan for ways we can facilitate in-person opportunities for students, even if all classes cannot occur face to face.

Given these variables and unknowns, the university must continue to be flexible in our approach to planning for fall 2021.

It is our goal that, by June 9 -- 90 days prior to the start of the fall term -- we will provide our community with a thorough update on what the fall semester will look like so that students can make arrangements for the term and faculty have time to do preparatory work for their courses.

Winter term

We are increasingly optimistic that with growing vaccination rates, changes to government regulations and public health guidance, on-campus activities will return to normal at Ryerson for our winter term in January 2022.

Thank you

Teaching, learning and working remotely is not an easy task and I know this has been a difficult year for many of us. I want to recognize the challenges you have all faced and I want to acknowledge your tenacity and your hard work.

I would also like to remind you that there are supports available to all of you at this time.

Students can learn more about services available to them at the Ryerson Centre for Student Development and Counselling.

Employees are encouraged to review the resources made available on the COVID-19 website regarding Wellbeing as well as the Ryerson Recharge campaign.

I also encourage you to continue visiting the university’s COVID-19 website for ongoing updates and information.

Thank you for your continued understanding, support and patience as we navigate the ongoing challenges and impact of COVID-19; I look forward to a time when we can be together again.

Mohamed Lachemi
President & Vice-Chancellor

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