NEWS RELEASE
GEORGIAN COLLEGE
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Effective Friday, March 20, all Georgian campuses will remain closed to students until further notice.
All programs move to remote delivery starting Monday, March 23. Students should check Blackboard for instructions.
The full message to students and employees is as follows:
Message from the president re: COVID-19
Dear students and colleagues:
It’s been an unsettling week of breaking news supporting Canadians at home and abroad, paired with cancellations and closures that I know are concerning for us all. On a positive note, I remain incredibly impressed and optimistic by the response from our students, our employees and the communities that surround us.
The Georgian community is a resilient and patient group, and most importantly agile, as we have proven repeatedly as we adapt to the many changes and new processes required to respond to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic.
I meet regularly with our senior leadership team, who all keep current with other colleges and government officials, and our emergency operations control group to work through the many decisions we must make daily as the situation evolves. For the health and safety of our students and employees, effective Monday, March 23, all campus locations will remain closed to students, including the libraries.
The good news is, consistent with our vision statement to accelerate success through exceptional teaching and learning, innovation and partnerships, we have moved with unparalleled speed, to offer our courses through remote delivery starting on Monday, March 23 – and we’re ready. I couldn’t be more proud of the work our faculty, academic leaders, IT and so many others have done to make this happen – from the Centre for Teaching and Learning (CTL), working with our incredible faculty, to administrative and support staff who have looked after the countless details that keep us running.
I’m committed to providing you all with timely updates and pertinent information to the questions I know you have.
Here’s what you need to know:
Students:
- Remote classes start on March 23. If you haven’t already, check Blackboard. Faculty have been busy preparing for remote delivery and posting information there.
- What does remote delivery look like? Faculty, with the support of CTL, retooled courses to offer a mix of synchronous and asynchronous delivery, where possible. What does that mean? It means, as often as possible, you’ll have access to learning materials and activities when and where it’s convenient for you – giving you the most flexibility.
- If you experience difficulty accessing your course content remotely please contact IT support at 705 728 1968 ext. 1732 or email [email protected].
- All campus locations will remain closed until further notice. Those students who require access to their lockers please contact Campus Safety Services at 705.722.5100.
- I recognize that most of our students have what they need to continue their studies remotely, however not every student has a computer and access to internet. We are working on strategies to address those situations, we have a limited number of loaner laptops, please email your request for a loaner laptop or need for internet access to [email protected].
- For courses that have a lab or practical component that cannot be completed through remote delivery further details will be provided as your course resumes next week.
- The Office of the Registrar has moved to remote delivery to help you – email [email protected] or call them at 705.728.1968 and press “0”.
- Student services are available via remote delivery, where possible. A list can be found online and will be updated as services are added.
- Georgian employment services centres will remain closed to walk-in traffic and will continue to serve clients remotely.
- Keep in touch with our latest updates and see our answers to your commonly asked questions on the student portal or at in the FAQ section below.
Employees:
- Thank you, I couldn’t be more proud of the work you’re doing to support our students and their success!
- At least one member of the senior leadership team is on the Barrie campus each day during business hours, campus security knows who and where they are, and will locate them if needed to support any issue college-wide. All other senior leaders are working remotely and available to anyone who reaches out to them via email or phone.
- As we move to maintaining a safe and healthy environment for all, the senior team has assessed, with the support of college administrators, the employee roles required on-campus in Barrie, Orillia and Owen Sound. Those required to be on campus will be advised by their manager.
- Some employees will continue to be on-site to maintain certain necessary operations that cannot be performed remotely.
- All other employees will continue to work remotely. Administrators will provide guidance and support.
Next week will be both exciting and challenging. Exciting, because we will be back to doing what we do best, teaching and learning, providing outstanding services and working collaboratively. Challenging, because of the necessary changes in how and where we do that.
We draw strength from our belief in our mission and vision. We are transforming lives through the power of education, let’s not lose sight of that during this incredibly unsettling and difficult time. Each of you have individual goals, collectively we are committed to building talented individuals and a stronger society – we are accelerating success.
Stay connected, albeit at a safe distance, encourage and support each other, get outside and breathe the fresh air, and take it one day at a time. We will eventually get on the other side of this and together we are stronger.
Dr. MaryLynn West-Moynes
President and CEO
Georgian College
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