Course delivery for Summer Session 2021 (May-August)

We know that many of you are curious about course delivery for the upcoming Summer Session. Although we still don’t know exactly what the public health situation will be like in a few months, we are sharing our direction now so that students have time to plan and so that our faculty and instructors can start thinking about and preparing their summer courses.

Given the small overall size of the summer student population—about 6,500 students spread across seven terms—we plan to provide more in-person learning opportunities while continuing to offer flexible online programming for students who register for courses between May and August 2021. There will also be some combined models (i.e. courses that include in-person and online components).

The health and safety of our campus community remains our priority, and we will continue to follow the latest advice from the Provincial Health Officer. This includes avoiding large gatherings, practicing physical distancing and using enhanced cleaning measures.

As a general guideline and to help ensure compliance with the current health guidelines, classes of more than 40 students will be online.

Face-to-face classes will be held in larger classrooms than in previous years with Classroom Safety Ambassadors and signage to assist students and instructors. All face-to-face classes will have a plan for full online delivery in the event that we cannot offer the class in person, either due to public health orders or large classroom availability.

The Summer Session timetable will be released in late February and will include the delivery mode of individual classes.

Updates will be provided via the UVic website as we learn more.

Additional information

Co-op, practica, internships and field schools

We will continue to offer local and national co-op work terms, practica and internships, where viable. We are also looking to offer some local and national field schools and trips. Faculty and instructors who wish to offer field schools and trips should visit the OHSE website.

Until the Canadian government lifts the global travel advisory, all group international travel (e.g. field schools) will continue to be suspended. Further, all university-sanctioned outbound global student mobility programs (e.g. exchange, co-op, practica, internships, and individual research) are on hold. An exception may be made for individual students who have special circumstances or who are participating in graduate programs in an international location. Visit the international website for information about this exception process.

Students traveling to Victoria

We recommend waiting until after the timetable is published in late February before finalizing travel and living arrangements.

UVic is committed to supporting international students, including those who are required to self-isolate. We are currently supporting students through our self-isolation program and will look to continue this program if needed.

On-campus student housing

As per previous years, on-campus housing will be available to current UVic students (undergraduate and graduate) who are registered in classes from May to August or who have a co-op work term with a local employer. We do not yet know how many students we will be able to accommodate due to health and safety protocols and will provide updates on the Residence Services website.

Campus services, supports and spaces

We will continue to offer all of our student services—such as academic advising, counselling services, and health services—online, while also exploring in-person options to support students who are on campus.

Student study spaces will continue to be available in the UVic Libraries and other select buildings, and we will increase spaces if there is demand.

All visitors to campus will be expected to comply with the latest PHO orders and any additional UVic health and safety requirements. More information about campus services will be provided in the coming months.

Fall term 2021

It is still too early to make any predictions about the fall term or indicate any direction. We do plan to continue offering a blend of face-to-face, online and hybrid options, but we do not know exactly what that will look like at this time given the many unknowns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

We know many members of our community are eager to return to face-to-face learning and teaching, and we want to continue offering flexible options.