BC's COVID-19 Restart Plan & Next Steps for CNC
On Wednesday, I heard a collective sigh of relief from across the entire CNC Community and the Province of BC at the news from Premier Horgan that BC will soon begin its journey of recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. BC is currently in Phase One of a four-phase restart plan. Phase Two begins in mid-May, with phase three expected to occur June through September. Phase Four will be sometime after that. The truly welcome news is that institutions like CNC and most other organizations and companies can now begin planning to resume operations within the parameters of the ‘new normal’.
During the past two months, the COVID-19 global pandemic has dramatically changed almost every aspect of life, at CNC and in society. All of you have all shown remarkable flexibility and adaptability in adjusting to a very different way of learning, teaching and generally how we do our jobs and live our lives. I want to thank you for pulling together and making the transition go as smoothly as possible under the circumstances.
Now, as we begin Intersession and contemplate the future, we must turn our attention to planning for the various scenarios we may face in the fall. What we have been able to do, is identify work that needs to be done based on the most likely scenarios.
To prepare for whatever the future may bring, there is a lot of planning to be done. To help with the many details and the need to collaborate between departments, we have asked Alison Anderson, Dean of SUSCA, to take on an important, temporary role of coordination and project management. She has agreed to do so.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, there are a considerable number of questions that our students and the rest of the community have been asking and we have endeavoured to provide answers wherever possible. Several recent student surveys conducted by external groups have confirmed that the main issue that students want answers to is “what will happen in the fall”?
While the short answer is that we don’t know yet; a number of possibilities have been considered. As the new provincial guidelines have now become available, we can now begin to further develop plans for the fall term with a better idea of how we may be able to conduct classes and programs.
What we know:
- Safety remains our key priority.
- Physical distancing measures will continue for the foreseeable future in B.C.
- We will adapt our operations to a new normal while being prepared to scale back physical activity should the COVID infection rate start to spike again.
- Work-from-home options and online transactions may continue to play a role.
- Some employees may begin returning to workplaces where sufficient safeguards and protocols can be developed.
- Caution and patience will need to prevail.
Based on the newly available information we are anticipating a fall model where we are able to safely increase the number of students on campus on a modified basis. However, as the availability of a vaccine is not considered likely until sometime in 2021, we need to have plans for modifying the way we behave and interact while on campus. It is likely that some form of blended learning that combines some online learning with lower densities and physical distancing on campus will be required.
These are difficult challenges to confront. No one has a crystal ball and what the fall will actually look like is unknown. Nevertheless, based on the new information from the province, planning for an increased level of activity on campus will begin with the understanding that we may need to adjust if the state of the pandemic changes. As always, we will align closely to the direction of the Provincial Health Officer, WorkSafeBC, and our ministry.
Please know that we remain as committed as ever to delivering the best possible learning experience to current and future students who are presently confronted with an uncertain future in unprecedented times. We remain committed to what makes CNC special: our links to the community, the rapport between faculty and students, and a staff who are all committed to student success. Our students are showing incredible resilience, strength, and optimism – as are all of us who work here. The last two months has shown that all at CNC are flexible and innovative and more than able to rise to a challenge. Thank you again for all you do to make CNC a pillar in the communities we serve.
Together, we will navigate through this challenging time and emerge even stronger.
Sincere thanks and continue to take care.
Dennis Johnson
President and CEO