Camosun sets safety protocols as fall registration starts today

Camosun College has imposed new safety protocols and learning practices as students begin registering for the fall semester.

Most courses will have a component of online learning, John Boraas, Camosun’s vice-president of education, said Monday. “Only where absolutely necessary will students come on campus,” he said.

Teaching that needs to be delivered in person will be done in a way that’s safe for everyone, Borass said.

Registration opens today. About 9,000 students typically sign up for fall courses, he said.

Most existing programs will be offered, but plans for a few new courses have been put on hold.

Safety measures include physical distancing in classrooms, hallways and stairs, dividing classes into smaller groups, use of personal protective equipment, entry and exit markers, floors marked to direct flow patterns, adjusting schedules to make sure there is enough room to work safely, and sanitizing classrooms and shared equipment.

Boraas said there will be more control over how students and faculty interact, which includes ensuring no more than 50 students congregate in any one area at a time.

The post-secondary institution is training instructors in how to present courses online, said Boraas, who is vetting all requests to run a course on campus.

If a course is approved for on-campus training, that could mean only a component of it takes place on campus. For example, a trades course could see the theory portion offered online, while inperson training would be performed under safety protocols.

Every year, Camosun welcomes about 20,000 students to its Lansdowne and Interurban campuses.

Offerings include university-transfer courses, business, continuing education, technical and trade programs and medical health education.

Students whose programs were interrupted by the pandemic are now catching up and are expected to be ready for fall, Boraas said.

Examples of courses to be offered on campus include carpentry, dental hygiene, electronics and computer engineering, health-care assistant, professional cook, plumbing, practical nursing, certified dental assistant and mechanical engineering.

Practicums will still be available for students, Boraas said. Both the college’s and the health authority’s protocols will have to be followed if a nursing student goes into a hospital.

Boraas is anticipating fewer students on campus this fall, estimating that about 20 per cent could be present, while the remainder study online, although planning is still underway.

Also unknown is how many international students will be attending. The college’s website said it usually has about 2,100 international students. It is unclear whether they will be able to obtain visas, Boraas said.