Ever-changing provincial and public health directives. A potential second wave of infections. No current vaccine. A concerned greater Guelph community. These were among the challenges facing University of Guelph leaders as they planned the fall 2020 semester.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n“COVID-19 was and continues to be a complex, rapidly changing situation,\u201d says Daniel Atlin, vice-president (external). \u201cIt makes planning and decision-making incredibly challenging.\u201d<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n
U of G \u2013 along with universities across the province \u2013 had to re-evaluate its approach for this fall semester. From late spring until classes began Sept. 10, faculty and staff created a hybrid model of instruction, with most courses being delivered remotely and only limited in-person classes and labs, all following public health and safety protocols.<\/p>\r\n
As a result, there are far fewer people on campus. About 1,000 students are living in residences and in family housing, compared to more than 5,000 in a typical year. Another 10,000 students are estimated to be living in the greater Guelph area.<\/p>\r\n
Some buildings are open only to students and faculty involved in face-to-face classes. However, the campus is open for all students wishing to study, with spaces designated in the University Centre and the library, following appropriate physical distancing and capacity limits.<\/p>\r\n
While it\u2019s a quiet campus, there\u2019s a buzz in new online learning environments and virtual communities.<\/p>\r\n
Numerous innovations were launched to ensure at-home, high-quality learning through new platforms and learning tools intended to offer a vibrant and varied educational experience. Faculty and staff in every college have embraced remote, interactive, multimedia models of online instruction to deliver engaging course material.<\/p>\r\n
\r\n\u201cWe\u2019ve broken down the walls of the classroom and taken that experience to their computer,\u201d says Prof. Janet Beeler-Marfisi, Department of Pathobiology in the Ontario Veterinary College.<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n
The University also boosted efforts to safeguard student health and well-being, including launching an innovative and interactive safety campaign and developing protocols and guidelines.<\/p>\r\n
Student Wellness is offering vital health and wellness supports, both remotely and in-person, and Student Life has initiated numerous programs to engage and support students.<\/p>\r\n
\u201cWe were disappointed that we could not physically welcome most of our students back to campus,\u201d says Carrie Chassels, vice-provost (student affairs).<\/p>\r\n
\u201cHowever, we worked extremely hard to ensure that there are plenty of opportunities this fall for students to be supported, to get involved and to stay connected.\u201d<\/p>\r\n
For more information go to our Remote Learning at U of G<\/a> page.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ever-changing provincial and public health directives. A potential second wave of infections. No current vaccine. A concerned greater Guelph community. These were among the challenges facing University of Guelph leaders as they planned the fall 2020 semester.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":6785,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":null,"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":null},"categories":[3,438],"tags":[609,763],"yoast_head":"\n
A fall semester like no other -<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"A fall semester like no other -\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Ever-changing provincial and public health directives. A potential second wave of infections. No current vaccine. A concerned greater Guelph community. These were among the challenges facing University of Guelph leaders as they planned the fall 2020 semester.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-28T13:00:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-28T18:39:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/fall-semester-like-no-other.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"855\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"380\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Portico Staff\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/\",\"name\":\"\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/fall-semester-like-no-other.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/fall-semester-like-no-other.jpg\",\"width\":855,\"height\":380,\"caption\":\"True colours: Despite the pandemic restrictions, U of G students are sporting some colourful school spirit.\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/\",\"name\":\"A fall semester like no other -\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-28T13:00:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-28T18:39:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"A fall semester like no other\"}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533\",\"name\":\"Portico Staff\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Portico Staff\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/author\/staff\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"A fall semester like no other -","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"A fall semester like no other -","og_description":"Ever-changing provincial and public health directives. A potential second wave of infections. No current vaccine. A concerned greater Guelph community. These were among the challenges facing University of Guelph leaders as they planned the fall 2020 semester.","og_url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/","article_published_time":"2020-10-28T13:00:22+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-10-28T18:39:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":855,"height":380,"url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/fall-semester-like-no-other.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Portico Staff","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/","name":"","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/#primaryimage","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/fall-semester-like-no-other.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/10\/fall-semester-like-no-other.jpg","width":855,"height":380,"caption":"True colours: Despite the pandemic restrictions, U of G students are sporting some colourful school spirit."},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/#webpage","url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/","name":"A fall semester like no other -","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/#primaryimage"},"datePublished":"2020-10-28T13:00:22+00:00","dateModified":"2020-10-28T18:39:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/2020\/10\/a-fall-semester-like-no-other\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"A fall semester like no other"}]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#\/schema\/person\/ad735acac2eccbc0069f79d23598f533","name":"Portico Staff","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/#personlogo","inLanguage":"en-US","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/46b428721fd31a9d9bde7e15d8054af3?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Portico Staff"},"url":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/author\/staff\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6861"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6861"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7199,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6861\/revisions\/7199"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/porticomagazine.ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}