Post-secondary education looks the closest it has to normal since the start of the pandemic.
Confederation College had the semester’s first day of class on Wednesday after focusing on student orientation.
Richard Gemmill is the Vice President, Academic and says people are happy about an in-person learning experience once again.
“Students are excited to be back,” explains Gemmill. “It’s been a long summer of some empty hallways, so having everybody back is a good feeling. It’s nice to see people too that are working through all these pandemic experiences, and they seem very excited about just getting the opportunity to get back.”
To ensure student safety, Confederation College implemented a vaccine policy in August.
Along with this, there is a walk-in vaccine clinic currently in the college to allow students to receive either their first or second doses.
“That’s what this next week and a half is all about, it’s to help those students that haven’t had the opportunity to get their shots done,” says Gemmill. “They can still get into the school to access the actual vaccine clinic to get their first shot. For those that are not fully vaccinated, they’ll have to go through a rapid antigen testing program to come onto campus on a regular basis. We had one yesterday, we have one today, we have another one tomorrow just to get as many people the opportunity to get that shot.”
Confederation College has also added on to a previous app students and teachers have used, to make entering campus during the pandemic simpler.
It allows them to upload their proof of vaccination onto the app, meaning a quick check at the door on the way into class rather than a complicated process.
Vaccine clinic at Confederation College (STAFF PHOTO)
