2022 Winter Semester to start online

Sent on behalf of Tim Rahilly, President and Vice-Chancellor

Wednesday, December 22 at 3 p.m.

As health experts continue to learn more about the COVID-19 Omicron variant and its spread, Mount Royal University is joining other post-secondary institutions in Alberta to temporarily move classes online for the beginning of the winter semester.

When classes start on Monday, Jan. 10, 2022, the majority of courses will be temporarily online until Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022. Before classes start on Jan. 10, departments and/or instructors will be reaching out to students registered in those classes that will continue to be delivered in person to confirm how their courses will be accessed during this temporary shift to online instruction. Unless noted otherwise by a department or faculty, in-person practicums will carry forward as originally planned. There will be no adjustments made to courses already scheduled for online delivery.

Starting the semester online will allow us the time we need to assess the new variant’s impact, particularly after the holiday season. By reducing the number of people on our campus, we can allow the learning activities that must be in person to continue.

The day-to-day routine for employees currently working from home will remain unchanged. Many employees who have been working from campus will shift to remote work from January 4 - 7, 2022, as managers work through their requirements for operational effectiveness and for service delivery requirements. Faculty delivering on-campus instruction and staff who are needed to maintain on-campus programs, supports and services will return to the office on January 4.

University buildings, facilities and services will remain open during this temporary shift. Community members will have access to in-person services, including student services, Recreation and Athletics, Wellness Services, the Riddell Library & Learning Centre, Cougars Campus store and food services. As a reminder, if you come to campus, as previously communicated in the university’s COVID-19 directive you are required to wear a mask and to be fully vaccinated. If you are eligible, please get your booster shot as soon as you are able to do so.

We will reassess the situation in mid-January and communicate before Jan. 18, 2022 to confirm whether in-person instruction will resume on Monday, Jan. 24. We will send updates via email and on the University website.

Throughout the pandemic, the MRU community has worked together to continue to provide an outstanding education to students. As we face this latest hurdle, I remain grateful to all of you. I am hopeful that by taking these temporary actions now, we can resume in-person instruction later in January.