Mid-summer update from President Cassels

Dear Colleagues,

It is hard to believe that it has now been five months since our campus community urgently began to implement measures in response to the COVID-19 crisis, substantially altering our university’s usual operations. I continue to reflect with gratitude on how our campus community has risen to the current challenging situation so effectively—from adapting work routines to your kitchen tables, to learning new technologies, to rapidly creating online course content, to proactively supporting students under the most extraordinary of circumstances. I have always said our university’s greatest strength is our talented and dedicated people working collaboratively, and you prove me right time and time again.

Safe work planning

As you know, despite the impacts of the ongoing pandemic, the mission and work of the university has continued steadily, albeit differently. On July 31, the Province released the COVID-19 Go-Forward Guidelines for BC’s Post-Secondary Sector. As more of our community returns to campus, our approach continues to be careful and gradual while maintaining our focus on the safety of our people and broader community.

Along with other post-secondary institutions, we developed a COVID-19 Safety Plan that outlines how we will reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission and that follows six steps provided by WorkSafeBC. The safety protocols that everyone at the university must follow, including the requirements for safe work plans for all campus units, and training for all faculty and staff, are now available online.

Across the university, we also continue to recognize the need for flexibility, support and understanding during these stressful times, especially for members of our community who are balancing work with caring for children, family members and their own health concerns.

Our academic terms

It has been a busy summer for many at UVic, with very strong student enrolments. National polling has shown that health and safety is a key determinant for students and family decision-making, and our robust summer enrolments reflect the broad desire for online learning during these times. We have been making major investments in people and technology to ensure that the online learning experience is the highest quality possible.

While predominantly online, you’ll be aware that this fall we are offering core experiential learning programs on campus, some graduate programs on campus, and a robust program of online learning to meet our students’ needs around the globe. This translates to an estimated 1,700 undergraduate and 1,800 graduate students taking courses in person and on campus this fall. On the research front we are well along the phased approach to resuming on-campus research activity.

We are now actively planning for the spring term, guided by our principles for returning safely to campus, working closely with the Province, public health and our colleagues across the post-secondary sector. I know our community is eagerly waiting for an announcement on the composition of our spring term offerings. You will understand that there are competing considerations and we will want to make decisions based on the best and most current information and advice possible. We hope to begin making those decisions in the coming weeks.

I want to recognize our chairs, directors, faculty and instructors for their leadership and innovative approaches to teaching and adapting their pedagogy for online learning—and for generously sharing their knowledge with colleagues. And along with them, the effort and innovation I see from non-academic staff to support the success of our university at this time is truly inspiring. Your efforts are deeply appreciated and the fortitude with which you approached this monumental task has been uplifting.

Budget impacts

We know that we have significant budget challenges, but based on our projected 2020-21 enrolments we have reason to be cautiously optimistic about our university’s ability to withstand the financial impacts from COVID-19. We are indeed facing a financial gap, but are planning to build a bridge over it to maintain our momentum as a leading research university. Support for online learning and enhanced safety are high priorities so that we can encourage students to continue their academic programs and be successful in them.

Building community in uncertain times

I am looking forward to the many orientation and welcoming activities planned for our faculty, staff and students later this month and in early September, although they will look a little different this year. Over 4,500 students have enrolled for the online pre-arrival orientation program to help them prepare for the fall term.

Our students are understandably searching for a sense of community in these uncertain times. Creating a welcoming and engaging community for our students continues to be a high priority for the university. The UVic Office of Student Life is working to transition all of our student engagement programs and initiatives online to ensure students are still connected for the upcoming year. Maintaining and building community is also important for all of us who work at UVic.

The New Student Connect Program, a peer-support program that will pair new students with upper-year students to help with the transition to university and with navigating academic life virtually, has been launched. We will also advance student mental health supports through our new Student Wellness Centre—which includes Counselling, Health and Multifaith—and through a 24/7 mental health service, both launching later this month.

I am very thankful for our faculties who are holding virtual townhalls and other events to answer questions and to build communities around their students. Our society cannot afford to lose a cohort of future leaders because we did not support and encourage them through the most formative time of their development.

We're in this together

Our university continues to fulfill its vision to contribute to a better future for people and the planet, and we are fully committed to supporting our community’s, region’s and province’s recovery efforts.

Thanks to our comprehensive programs of teaching and research, our enviable academic environment, and the quality of our diverse and talented faculty, staff and students we are in a strong position to weather this ongoing storm. Soon we will all be welcoming a new president to campus and I have every confidence that our university is well positioned for its future.

I look forward to the fall term, which will be unlike any other, and to updating you again in the coming weeks. In the interim, I hope you find some time to rest and to enjoy the warm summer weather.

Jamie Cassels, QC
President and Vice-Chancellor