U of C to increase in-person learning for winter semester

CALGARY (660 NEWS) — The University of Calgary plans to open its doors to more students for the winter 2021 semester.

The post-secondary institution started the fall semester with 20 per cent of students returning to in-person learning and believes it can expand on that next term.

“We’re going to try to push to over 30 per cent of our students being in-person at the university,” Ed McCauley, President and Vice-Chancellor of U of C, said.

“Our planning has shown we can safely accommodate this next phase, allowing us to expand upon our ability to deliver learning in person.”

Academic units are planning their face-to-face course components within a 30-student maximum cap as a guideline, with some possible exceptions.

Talks continue on how the winter semester will look with more information becoming available to students on Oct 30.

Mount Royal University plans to continue delivering most classes online during the winter semester, similar to the fall term.

“Over the next month, faculty members will decide on courses with in-person learning exceptions. A list of these will be posted online in the first week of November so that you can prepare,” MRU said in a statement on its website.

As most courses continue to be taught online, the University of Calgary is in consultations with its community about what next year tuition levels should look like.

“Those discussions about tuition are ongoing right now and will continue until the winter term,” McCauley said.