Return to Campus (Winter 2022)
The majority of RTA classes will be taking place on campus. This means that all students should be making plans and preparing to access campus on a regular basis beginning in January. As you know, we have been preparing for this change by participating in a partial return to campus throughout the fall semester, and have received lots of positive feedback from students and instructors.
You may be wondering whether you’ll have the option to select courses in a way that enables you to ensure the winter term is entirely virtual. With close to 90% of our classes operating in person, we think that is very unlikely, but it should be noted that each program will be approaching this differently. If this is something you wish to explore, please contact your academic advisor.
As shared in an update from President Lachemi earlier this fall, the decision to return was made by the university, after reviewing guidelines and recommendations as made by the provincial government. As the planning for winter continues, there are several levels of policy and decision making that take place, including at the faculty level (The Creative School), the local level (RTA and other programs and departments) and at the program level.
In Person
Fully in-person teaching refers to courses that are specifically designed for classroom delivery. In Person instruction assumes that all students are able to attend classroom sessions. It can leverage digital tools like D2L Brightspace for administration, collaboration, and communication purposes, but the majority of learning and teaching is done in the classroom.
Virtual
Virtual teaching refers to courses that are delivered virtually with students participating in the course without coming to campus. This is a temporary solution for classes that are usually delivered face-to-face. Remote courses may use asynchronous or synchronous (real-time) strategies or a combination of both. Asynchronous remote teaching utilises digital technologies (D2L Brightspace, Google Workspace) to facilitate teaching and learning without the requirement of real-time connection. Synchronous sessions take place during scheduled class time using virtual meeting software (Zoom, Google Meet).
Online
Fully online teaching refers to courses that are specifically designed for digital delivery and facilitation. Fully online courses use a variety of digital learning strategies and are developed through collaboration between an instructional design team and subject matter experts. These courses typically do not have scheduled meeting times. RTA does not currently offer any online courses, but you may encounter this style of teaching in elective courses from other schools.
Students will receive their schedules on November 23rd. Once this happens, you’ll have an understanding of when and where you’ll need to be on campus. While it remains unlikely that you can arrange for a fully remote semester, you can adjust your course schedule by adding, dropping and swapping classes during your enrolment period. We encourage you to reach out to your academic advisors with any questions you may have about this process.
Access to make changes to your schedule via RAMSS will start on the following dates:
- 1st Year; Thursday, December 30, 2021
- 2nd Year; Wednesday, December 29, 2021
- 3rd Year; Tuesday, December 28, 2021
- 4th Year; Monday, December 27, 2021
- Open Enrolment; Tuesday, January 4, 2021
The university has put several procedures in place, based on provincial guidelines, public health officials, and the advice from the university’s department of Environment Health & Safety. Departments and schools have some latitude to create local procedures, so long as they do not contradict the procedures mentioned above.
Health Screening
Before leaving home, all community members, regardless of vaccination status, are required to complete Toronto Met’s health screening process prior to accessing campus each time. You can do this by downloading the RyersonSafe Mobile App or by visiting the RyersonSafe Health Screening Webpage
Vaccinations
To protect the health and safety of community members on campus and to comply with the recommendations from public health authorities and requirements of the provincial government, Toronto Met, like other post-secondary institutions in Ontario, requires individuals to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and submit proof of vaccination to access campus or in-person university activities off campus. Proof of vaccination is required for the winter 2022 semester. All students, staff and faculty have been required to submit proof of vaccination.
The deadline for all community members to submit their vaccination status or apply for exemption was November 1st, 2021. If you have not yet completed this step, you must do so immediately. Contact the ServiceHub at 416-979-5036 or visit ryerson.ca/servicehub/contact/ to Live Chat with a ServiceHub Ambassador.
For more information, visit the Vaccination FAQ here.
Masking
In accordance with the university’s policy on Masking, a Mask or Face Covering must be worn by every person at all times while indoors in a manner that covers their mouth, nose, and chin. Students must wear a mask or face covering at all times while indoors in public spaces, including in individual study spaces, unless an exemption applies to them. You may also temporarily remove a Mask or Face Covering to receive services that require the removal of the Mask or Face Covering, to consume food or drink, or as may be necessary for the purposes of health and safety. If you don’t see signage indicating that “No Food or Drink” are permitted in that area, then you may temporarily remove your mask in order to eat.
Ventilation
In summer 2020, the university began measuring airflow rates in classrooms, studios and teaching labs, and study spaces, plus additional identified spaces, to set safe capacity limits. Many buildings have MERV 13 filters installed. Where necessary, air quality will be enhanced through additional methods such as portable air purifiers. The university has begun investing strategically in upgrading HVAC systems, across campus, and the facilities team regularly inspects and replaces the air filters in all of our air handling units that are responsible for removing particles in the air such as dust, smoke, allergens, airborne bacteria and other pathogens. Click here to learn more about ventilation and air purification on campus.
In response to COVID-19 and to support health and safety on campus, Toronto Met is changing the way community members are able to access Toronto Met buildings during regular business hours. Effective immediately, all exterior campus building doors will be locked and will require a OneCard to gain access to the interior of campus buildings.
All main exterior campus building doors are equipped with a card reader. To gain access, please tap your OneCard against the card reader at a main exterior building door and you will be granted access to the building. Please note that some building perimeter doors are exit only and cannot be accessed via your OneCard. Community members are advised to carry your OneCard with them at all times in order to avoid delays to your ability to access campus buildings.
Students who have never had a OneCard before must apply for their card online by November 30, 2021. Second year students who have applied for their OneCard but have not received it due to COVID-19 restrictions to campus are not required to complete another application, but must schedule an appointment (external link) to pick up their card.
Academic Accommodation Support (AAS) provides academic accommodation and related support to students with disabilities at Toronto Met. If you are a student who has benefited from things like closed captioning or recorded lectures and are concerned about the shift to in person classes, we strongly recommend that you register with AAS. Registration for the winter semester opens in January, but you should start looking into this process now and gathering the materials that you will require since you will be asked to upload disability-related documentation within the Intake Form.
Your documentation must be completed by a healthcare practitioner who is qualified to make the diagnosis. (google form) This form (external link) will help you to find out what kinds of documentation you’ll require based on your needs.
Open seating and study spaces in the RCC will be accessible to you next semester. Where previously classrooms like RCC201 were made available to students who needed spaces to take virtual classes, the return of in-person teaching will make this unlikely in the winter semester. Discussion about shared spaces like the Student Lounge are still taking place—we’re in experimentation mode; as we better understand what needs are/are not being met we can and will make adjustments. In the meantime, here are some of the resources you should familiarize yourself with:
Student Learning Centre (SLC)
The SLC has bookable space available to students. By visiting slc.blog.ryerson.ca/book-a-desk/, you can book study space up to 7 days in advance. Each student will be given 25 bookable hours per week. You may divide those hours within the week in a way that works best for you. Through this system, you’ll also have access to book Collaborative and Group Work Rooms.
Library
The Library has study space available to students, which can be booked by visiting https://library.ryerson.ca/services/facilities/space-booking/. In order to make as much space available as possible, this system is only available to students, and public access is not permitted.
A number of extracurricular activities and clubs have already begun to operate in person this semester! During the winter term, each club will continue to make its own decisions about whether operations will continue online or in person. Information about program specific offerings (for example, Nerd Nite, Get Good, Rams Live or SpiritLive) will be shared during Winter Orientation or by email, social media or website updates.
Campus Maps
If you’re looking for specific resources on campus (a particular building, emergency phones, all-gender restrooms, or a spot to safely lock your bike) you can use the interactive Campus Map to filter for what you need to find!
Winter Orientation
We will be hosting Winter Orientation Sessions on Wednesday, January 12th and Thursday, January 13th. Wednesday sessions will be hosted virtually and will be recorded. Thursday programming will be optional and hosted in person. We’re currently anticipating that in person sessions will be limited to 1st and 2nd-year students, but stay tuned for more information!
At these sessions, you can expect:
- Updates on health and safety and the return to campus
- Tours of important buildings on campus in addition to key program-specific spaces
- Information about resources in the RCC, how they’re used, and how to access them.
We know that you may still have questions in the coming weeks, and we’ll do our best to keep you updated and informed about everything you need to know as we move towards a more fulsome return to campus. In the meantime, the most important thing for you to do is pay close attention to your email, as this is where you’ll be receiving key information. Additionally, you can contact:
Academic Advisors
As always, questions about course planning, scheduling, scholarships, minors, and more should be directed to your Academic Advisor. 1st and 2nd Year students can contact Angela Cheng, and 3rd and 4th Year students should contact Donna Morrison.
Course Instructors
Questions about exams, what materials you should be bringing to class or what types of equipment you’ll need access to, or other course related questions, should always be directed to your course instructor first, as each class will have its own particular needs.
Program Directors
New Media; David Bouchard
Sport Media; Laurel Walzak
Media Production; Finlay Braithwaite (Fall 2021) / TBA (Winter 2022)
Masters of Media Production; James Nadler (Fall 2021) / Laura Nenych (Winter 2022)
School Council Representatives
The RTA School Council meets twice a semester to "develop and recommend policies relevant to the School," and debate and analyze policy issues relating to the School's administration, curriculum, students, faculty or alumni. Each program and year has a representative on the School council who are empowered to represent your interests to the Council and to RTA School of Media.
Media Production
1st year; Abhay Sharma
2nd year; Dhruv Gogia
3rd year; Lina Elsaadi
4th year; Jacob Krywetzky
New Media
1st year; Vicky Huang
2nd year; Marko Cindric
3rd year; Ruizong Ge
4th year; Xiyao (Miranda) Shou
Sport Media
1st year; Mihir Kore
2nd year; Rania Elhilali
3rd year; Casidie Prebianca-Upson
4th year; Hunter Surphlis
Masters of Media Production
Grad Representative; Jonathan Bradley