Message from the Chair

Dear Computer Science students,

I would like to extend a warm welcome to all the new and returning students on behalf of the Faculty and Staff of the Computer Science Department for the new Academic year. As our new students embark onto the next journey of academics in their lives, I am sure returning students are eagerly looking forward to advancing their academic skill set. However, let us all realize that the landscape of learning and teaching changed in many ways. As we are all together in this unprecedented CoViD pandemic times, we have to adapt to new ways of learning, such as the use of on-line course delivery systems. All our Fall term courses in CS will be on-line predominantly using the Zoom video conference system for the delivery of lectures, labs and tutorials. Please login using the UVic SSO.  It is also possible that Spring term courses will be on-line too as recently announced by the university (https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2020+notice-spring-2021+notice). We all are actively working and discussing ways to find the correct balance between meeting the learning objectives of students, and at the same time maintaining safety.

As we are looking forward to the Fall term instruction, here are a few updates that we should keep in mind:

  • The Computer Science Department will be offering the Fall-term courses on-line for students to meet their learning objectives in various courses. Since each course is unique, course instructors may use different techniques to meet these objectives. They could adopt synchronous or asynchronous modes of course delivery.  Please follow the course outlines posted on the CS Webpage: (https://www.uvic.ca/engineering/computerscience/undergraduate/courses/index.php)
  • Further, please ensure you check the official UVic information on COVID-19 at https://www.uvic.ca/covid-19/ on a regular basis for up to date news and decisions on the remainder of the school year.
  • Some on-campus buildings and services including the Bookstore, Mystic Market, CARSA and the SUB have opened their doors, in a modified way. Please check a department or facility website before visiting to confirm in-person availability. Of course, all of our services remain available remotely.
  • If you are on campus, effective Sept. 8, the university is recommending that everyone wear a mask in public indoor spaces such as hallways, stairways, building entryways and other high-traffic areas where physical distancing cannot be maintained for longer than brief periods. Please see: https://www.uvic.ca/news/topics/2020+notice-masks+notice

Regardless of whether our courses are on-line or face-to-face, we remain committed to offering high quality academic programming and education to all of our students and we thank you for being with us in this, apart but together. Wishing you all the best.

Yours Truly,

-Sudhakar Ganti, Chair, Computer Science