MOVING OUT OF HARM’S WAY
U of W, St. Clair students leave dorms
Campus life is quiet, as colleges and universities take measures to help mitigate the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The University of Windsor announced as of Wednesday it will be transitioning to an essential-services-only model, requesting that all staff who can work from home do so.
Some of the essential services include student health services, campus security, facility services, food services, financial services and residence services.
The university has also opted to close the Leddy Library and the Law Library buildings and move to a remote working environment. The Leddy Library will continue to support access to online resources and other remote services.
While residences at the University of Windsor campus remain open at this time, John Coleman, University of Windsor’s director of public affairs and communications, said by email many students have chosen to leave.
“Residences are still open but most students have already moved out now that we’ve moved away from face-to-face classes, and students will not have to return to campus for exams.”
Coleman said the university will continue to monitor the situation and how it applies to residence.
He said most international students at the school have decided to stay in Windsor as classes and exams move online.
The federal government tweeted last week that online course delivery will not impact work permit eligibility for international students.
St. Clair College residences also remain open, but the school has encouraged students living on campus to return home if possible.
“However, as we recognize that this may be difficult for some students, the residence at both Windsor and Chatham campuses will remain open to students,” the college website reads. “No visitors are permitted. The exception is students returning from outside Canada who are now required to return home and self-isolate for 14 days.”
St. Clair announced that starting Tuesday at 4:30 p.m., all campuses implemented a work-from-home strategy for employees, with the exception of critical operations.
“Student services such as financial aid, registration, admissions, counselling, accessibility, tutoring and accommodations will continue virtually, by telephone or by utilizing technology, and will also be provided by appointment only, the college said in an email.
The college announced last week it would be moving to online classes until the end of term and opted to suspend all on-campus labs and clinics Sunday until further notice.
For college updates and information concerning COVID-19, visit www.stclaircollege.ca/news and for University of Windsor information go to www.uwindsor.ca/ coronavirus/.