LAKELAND - Class-time reverted back to screen-time for hundreds of learners in Portage College programs across the Lakeland on Thursday. But the change is only expected to last several days.
Less than a month after in-person teaching returned to start the new school semester in Portage campus locations across the Lakeland, plans changed again. Part of the provincial government's State of Health Emergency measures that were implemented at midnight Sept. 15, in-person classes for post-secondary school students across Alberta were halted Sept. 16.
Portage officials will use the next week to arrange classroom spaces and create measures to align with the province's latest COVID-19 pandemic protocols.
"We have pivoted temporarily to online classes while we set up classrooms for social distancing," said college spokesperson Jaime Davies. "For programming where there is a larger number of students, we’re moving them to a larger area in the buildings to accommodate safe distancing for face-to-face programming needs."
The work is expected to be completed before the end of the month.
"As soon as those spaces are available we will be back on campuses, which is planned to be no later than Sept. 27," Davies said.
No vaccines
Unlike the nine of the province's 26 post-secondary institutions, including the University of Alberta, NAIT, Mount Royal, MacEwan and NorQuest College, new COVID measures at the Portage campus locations won't include mandatory vaccinations when in-class learning resumes. Instead, school officials will keep social distancing and face mask protocols in place until regulations from Alberta Health Services change.
The latest 'pivot' has been one in a long series of changes for Portage officials, students and residents of the communities across the Lakeland where Portage has classrooms. Davies says staff, students and community members should be commended for their adversity.
"The College faculty and staff have shown great expertise and adaptability," said Davies, acknowledging the obstacles faced by many in the region associated with the college. "It is challenging but we are up to it."
Despite the changes, Davies says the goal of Portage staff remains to keep student learning at the forefront.
"Our employees understand that these are dynamic times. They have expressed readiness for this change," she said. "We are confident our students will be given the best care during these times of change."
In a statement on the college's website, President Nancy Broadbent echoed those priorities.
"The health and safety of our campus community continues to be our top priority," noted the statement.
