On Wednesday, the Ontario government announced post-secondary school across the province will reopen for a summer term.
This is good news for the roughly 2,500 students at Conestoga College who were weeks away from graduating before the pandemic shut down colleges and universities in March.
According to Conestoga’s President and CEO, it is only these students who will be invited back on campus this summer.
“The highest priority for us is helping out these stranded students, they can’t graduate unless they complete these programs and we have to bring them in and we have to be sure follow appropriate procedures,” said Tibbits
He adds that they do not have an exact date when classes will resume, but says it will be either late July or early October.
In a release, the Ministry of Colleges and Universities says the summer term will help colleges and universities prepare for the fall.
According to Tibbits the school is looking at a number of significant health and safety policies, including:
- Reducing class sizes by a half or two thirds.
- Making masks mandatory on campus for all staff and students
- Enforcement of physical distancing guideline while on school property
- Spreading out classes between campuses in Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo and Guelph
Tibbits says, in preparation for the return of students, the school has ordered one million masks to distribute to staff and students throughout the year.
