Brandon University moves to online for beginning of Winter Term, may delay start

Brandon University is asking the Senate to approve a week’s delay to the start of the Winter Term 2022 and will return to primarily online learning until the end of January, 2022.

“Once again, we are faced with a fast-moving situation that calls upon us to make swift decisions to keep our campus as safe as possible,” said BU President David Docherty in an email to campus today. “All of us at Brandon University are watching the spread of the Omicron variant, and we want to make sure that the campus is as prepared as possible.”

A meeting of the BU Senate, which has responsibility for the academic calendar, is being convened as soon as possible. Senate will be asked to approve a week’s delay to the start of Winter Term 2022. This means that the University will re-open after the holiday break as scheduled on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022, but that the first day of classes would not be until the following week. Details will be shared immediately after the Senate decision.

The University will also shift to primarily online instruction until the end of January. We will continue to monitor the situation and are optimistic that we will know more in mid-January to make a determination about February. A delayed start to Winter Term will help faculty best make this shift. Some in-person instruction (for example critical labs or studios) will be permitted, just as they were last January. These decisions will be made by Deans in each faculty and communicated directly to students.

The University is also continuing the following precautions as well:

• In-person gatherings will continue to require masks and physical distancing of 2 metres or more.
• Enhanced ventilation, cleaning and sanitation protocols will continue.
• Entrances will continue to be locked, and key card access will continue to be required.
• You are strongly encouraged to receive your third vaccine dose or booster as soon as you are eligible.

While no individual measure is perfect, when they are taken together and applied consistently, these strict precautions have helped BU deliver a safe Fall Term, and they will be continued into the coming Winter Term.

(BU News Release)