Western University colleges to bring back students

While Western University is opting to keep its first-year students out of in-person learning for a month longer than its students in other years, in an effort to curb COVID transmission once campus reopens at the end of the month, Western’s three affiliate colleges say they aren’t following suit.

King’s University College, Brescia University College and Huron University College, affiliates of Western University, will allow all their students to resume in-person learning at the same time Jan. 31.

This is in line with plans in place at other Canadian post-secondary institutions, including Dalhousie, McGill, Waterloo, Concordia, York, University of British Columbia and the University of Toronto, all of which plan for their students to return together.

In a statement to the Star on Monday, Western said its first-years would be held back from in-person learning because most of them live in residence, shared spaces that “increase the risk of transmission and will not meet self-isolation requirements if substantial numbers of students are required to isolate.”

Faculty at the affiliate colleges told the Star that, by virtue of their schools having fewer students than Western, they are better able to isolate students in residences, should outbreaks occur.

“Western is huge, its residences are huge,” said David Malloy, president of King’s. “The affiliates have a different context. We won’t have the density, in classrooms or in residences, that Western does.”

Western has about 35,000 students, while King’s has about 3,600. Despite being the largest of the affiliates, Malloy said he is confident King’s will be “able to manage all students coming back.”

“We’ve also had the MiddlesexLondon Health Unit review our isolation strategy and they support what we proposed.”

Malloy said if infections occur, King’s residences have enough space to isolate students and the capacity to have them regularly checked on and delivered food.