According to Dr. Bonnie Henry and a UFV press release, UFV students can expect to return to in-person instruction next fall. This will be an immense relief for those yearning to return to campus and classrooms, and a source of anxiety for those who will think ahead to the implications of thousands of students once again congregating on campus. There are critical aspects of the pandemic that need to be considered if students are going to be able to safely take face-to-face classes in September.
“While the rollout of vaccines and this announcement provide encouragement for the fall, the pandemic is not over, and we must still work diligently to curb the spread of COVID-19,” Dr. Joanne MacLean, president of UFV said in the March 9 press release. Although post-secondary institutions are being approved for a return to campuses, it doesn’t mean that there won’t be outbreaks at UFV similar to local secondary schools or that everyone in face-to-face classes will be immunized in time for the return.
It’s hard not to question how appropriate a return to in-person instruction is when approval is being granted across the board and not to individual institutions based on their unique circumstances. Dr. Henry said it’s because of the accelerated COVID-19 vaccine schedule and that young adults “aged 18-24 should receive the vaccine no later than the end of July, but more likely sooner.” The current B.C. immunization plan (which was updated in March) contradicts this, listing young adults as receiving their first injections in September, but other news sources say that newly authorized vaccines, like the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine, will accelerate this.
The likelihood of COVID-19 vaccines being distributed to young post-secondary students in time for September seems good right now, but it’s by no means a sure thing, and that’s worrying. Canada has already been criticized for its unusually slow vaccine rollout. It’s been said that Canada has secured more vaccine doses per capita than anyone else, but many say there’s been a lack of urgency. This has been because of inadequate planning, issues with the logistics of the vaccine’s cold chain, a lack of domestic production capacity, and investment in vaccines from overseas factories that have had trouble meeting demand. As of February, some estimated that only three per cent of Canadians had been immunized. It feels risky to return to campuses without a clear projection that B.C. will meet its accelerated immunization plan, especially after a slow start. If young adults are being vaccinated in September rather than July, a return to in-person instruction could be immature.
What’s most important is that UFV should prepare to offer accommodations to those not wanting to return to in-person instruction. After all, there’s already infrastructure in place to conduct online learning, so maybe there’s a way to offer the best of both worlds. For example, in-person attendance could be optional; professors could teach in-class lectures for those who want to come to class physically and could record or livestream these sessions to post online for those at home. Or, for the classes already conducted during the pandemic, professors could reuse their recorded lectures. The university could plan to have online and in-person sections of the same course. (The problem with this, however, is that there are often very few sections offered for upper-level classes.)
There’s also the issue of commuting to campus; without sufficient online options in every program, students who use intercity transit to get to their primary campus could be left at a serious disadvantage. The Student Union Society (SUS) has not yet offered a replacement to the shuttle bus service or announced if the Fraser Valley Express bus will be added to the U-Pass. If there’s a return to face-to-face learning without regard for those who rely on public transportation, post-secondary education could suddenly become less accessible to many of UFV’s students.
It’s exciting that soon we’ll be able to see more of each other than what Zoom allows — but this change is also concerning, since there needs to be a lot of thought put into how to do it safely. With the return to in-person instruction, there’s hope that students will be offered immunization as soon as possible and accommodations in case that isn’t the case. As Dr. MacLean encouraged, let’s remain cautious despite the good news.
