BREAKING: U of A suspends class on March 13 as COVID-19 prevention measure

The University of Alberta has suspended classes on March 13 as a COVID-19 prevention measure and will provide students an update as to plans on how classes will resume on March 15.

The largest university in Alberta announced in an email to students and a statement online at 12:15 a.m. on March 13 that classes would be suspended for the day. The institution will remain open on March 13 for all workers and services, but students will not have to attend class due to COVID-19 concerns, a novel coronavirus declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization.

In the meantime, the U of A said it would consult with stakeholders and government officials to determine what the best course of action is moving forward — providing an update to students by email no later than March 15 on how classes will resume.

In a separate email sent to students and employees at 10:35 a.m. on March 13, the U of A also clarified that all midterms occurring on March 13, as well as over the weekend, are cancelled. The email stated that the exams “will be rescheduled or adjusted as necessary” and that “all students will be accommodated.”

As of 6 p.m. on March 12, the U of A and Alberta Health Services confirmed there are no reported cases of COVID-19 at the university or affecting the immediate university community.

The U of A said the measure to suspend class and provide students with further updates to class structures beyond March 15 was based on an announcement the provincial government made on March 12. Dr. Deena Hinshaw, Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health, provided new recommendations on public gatherings.

“The steps we take now and in the days ahead will help determine the severity of this outbreak for Alberta,” Hinshaw said.

“These are extraordinary circumstances, and our public health response must rise to the challenge we face. That is why, effective immediately, the Emergency Management Cabinet Committee has approved my recommendation that all large gatherings of more than 250 people, or international events in the province are to be cancelled.”

She added that schools and post-secondary institutions could remain open, however, plans to prevent situations where 250 or more people are gathered in educational institutions should be made.

The U of A said the suspension of classes on March 13 would allow it time to consult with public health officials, government, and other post-secondary institutions on next steps. It added that the University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge — all institutions which had 250 or more students — are taking similar steps.

The U of A is planning a media briefing regarding pandemic response plans on March 13.

— More to come

Faculty of Engineering to move to online classes to aid in COVID-19 prevention, other faculties mulling options

In an email sent to members of the faculty and students on March 12, the dean of the faculty announced class delivery would move to an online model, no later than March 17.

Fraser Forbes, dean of the faculty of engineering, said the “extraordinary” measure was to ensure staff and student safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. He added the provincial government’s directive of cancelling events where 250 people or more are gathered played a role in the decision to move classes online.

Students will be provided with instructions about their classes from their respective instructor and specifics on how online classes will work.

Other faculties at the U of A have not made public statements regarding class delivery as of publication. However, many professors have said they were provided with direction by the university to ensure they had plans to switch to online delivery of classes.

Several professors when reached out to for comment confirmed they received direction from Andrew Sharman, vice-president (facilities and operations) and executive lead for the U of A’s Public Health Response Team, to have plans in place to switch to online-only course delivery with 48 hours notice.

— More to come

UPDATE (13/03/2020, 10:43 a.m.): This article was updated to include information about the cancellation of midterm exams occurring on March 13, as well as over the weekend.