Conestoga College students petition for remote learning options in winter semester

A group of students at Conestoga College has launched an online petition – calling for further remote learning options as the institution prepares for a return to in-person, on-campus education for the upcoming winter semester. Noting that “most winter 2022 programs” will include on-campus, in person learning, the college has made it clear that returning students will need to provide proof of full vaccination against COVID-19 or provide a valid medical exemption by January 2, 2022. 

Arguing that news of plans for a return to in-person learning was only delivered on November 8, that group of students insist that they've been given an inadequate amount of time to secure accommodations for the upcoming semester “in an already overwhelmed housing market”, adding that the return not only poses logistical issues, but also challenges and “unnecessary strain” for those with physical and mental health issues. 

“No alternate options have been provided to students who have asked for remote learning options, and instead have been told they can choose to defer should they not want to attend in person classes,” reads the petition. “The students of Conestoga College require alternative learning options, the same as what most, if not all, other post secondary schools across the province are providing to their students.”

That online student petition has since amassed over one-thousand signatures.

When asked for comment on the issue, Director of Corporate Communications & Government Relations for the college Brenda Cassidy noted that plans for an in-person return are “not at all recent”, as she said those plans have been communicated to students, employees and the general public since August of 2021. 

“Since then, we've provided ongoing communications and resources,” said Cassidy. “Why this small group of students is suggesting that they weren't aware of the college's plans to return to in-person learning in January is a bit puzzling.”

According to the college's COVID-19 page, programs will be delivered in the winter term through hybrid, on-campus or remote formats, with details on classes and delivery formats provided to students in their program schedules available by mid-December.