Return to campus very different for two Winnipeg universities
Smaller U of W offering more in-person classes than U of M; both schools require mandatory vaccinations
The pandemic has meant a slightly different story at two of Manitoba's largest universities.
Mandatory vaccination requirements will be in force this fall at both schools, but the University of Winnipeg will have more students inside on-campus classrooms than the University of Manitoba.
The smaller downtown-based U of W will soon see 40 per cent of its lectures done in-person, with 578 on-campus classes and 787 remote classes.
Normally the escalators running up the three stories in the centre of the school are noisy and annoying, says Glenn Moulaison, the university's dean of arts, but they have been idle for 18 months.
The noise is now "a sign of life," Moulaison said.
"It is wonderful to be back. Wonderful to see students, to see staff members and professors on campus again," he said.
The U of W has a kiosk set up where students who show proof of both vaccinations get a sticker on their ID cards that gives them access to the campus.
Officials from the U of W told CBC News the school benefits from smaller class sizes, with the largest one having 97 students. The school worked with departments to ensure a mix of courses were available both in-person and online as some students wanted in-person, and other preferred online.
About 31 per cent of the normal compliment of 10,000 students are expected back on campus this week.
According to a spokesperson for the U of M, 430 classes with a registration of 20 students or less will proceed with in-person instruction and 360 in-person labs will resume. Lab sessions will be limited to no more than 25 students, or to the COVID-19 room-capacity limit, whichever is smaller.
The U of M will continue to deliver remote teaching for large classes. The school has nearly 30,000 full- and part-time students.
In-person classes for the university for the fall term represents between about 10 and 15 per cent of the total number of class sections, the spokesperson said.
Saif Qureshi was on the U of M's Fort Garry campus Tuesday for his second dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
The second-year science student has only one lab on campus and finds remote learning "weird."
"It doesn't feel like I'm actually going to school.... The learning experience is not the same," Qureshi said, though he agreed the school needed to take precautions because of the pandemic.
The university has a team on campus providing vaccinations and that's what prompted Qureshi to come to the school.
"Yeah, that's why I'm here.... I think it's a good thing," he said.
The U of M has a grace period until October for its students to be fully vaccinated.
