Several Ontario universities recently announced their decision to hold classes entirely online during the upcoming winter 2021 semester.
On Sept. 17, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced new restrictions for private in-person gatherings to a 10-person limit indoors and 25 people outdoors as Ontario officially enters its second wave of COVID-19.
These restrictions have raised concerns about students returning to in-person classes at Canadian universities, encouraging administrators to move classes online for the winter semester. Carleton University, Ryerson University, and McMaster University are some of the schools recently added to that list.
Almost all Canadian universities are currently having their fall semesters online.
Despite some Canadian universities’ recent decisions to remain online, other schools are still working to incorporate in-person learning this winter.
Marcia Steyaert, Western University’s media director, says the school is working to balance both in-person and distance learning for the winter term.
“We have a hybrid model where about 25 to 30 per cent of our courses have an on-campus experience,” Steyaert said.
Western U’s hybrid semester intends to focus primarily on supporting courses that usually require in-person labs.
The university plans to move forward with this plan, despite the outbreak among Western U students in mid-September, with 28 students testing positive for COVID-19.
In a statement released by Jennifer Massey, Western’s associate vice-president of student experience, Massey urged students to “avoid parties and large gatherings and ensure their social circles include a maximum of 10 people.”
According to Ontario’s Health Minister Christine Elliott, about 60 per cent of new cases are people under age 40, with the majority of these cases being people between the ages of 20 to 29.
Steve Joordens, a psychology professor at the University of Toronto, said youth—specifically university students—are struggling to follow physical distancing restrictions after returning to school, but the implications of online education on students’ mental health is just as much of a concern.
“One of the primary challenges of online education from a student perspective is that it requires a high degree of self-management. Many students do not have much experience self-managing,” Joordens said.
The traditional structure of in-person university learning provides students with the structure of when, where, and how learning is done, he said. With many online classes being asynchronous, this structure is lost.
Lynnmarie Corven, a second-year Carleton student, said she finds it hard to stay focused on online compared to in-person lectures.
“I can watch them whenever, and now that I’m living with my friends, it’s hard not to be distracted,” Corven said.
Students struggle to adjust to online structure
A recent poll conducted by the Canadian Mental Health Association found that 7 out of 10 Ontarians believe there will be a serious mental health crisis due to the pandemic.
Joorden said he fears many students will struggle to adjust to the new structure, increasing challenges to students’ mental health.
“Students who have difficulty meeting this challenge will not perform well and could suffer from hits to their self-esteem,” Joorden said. “In the worst case, this could lead to depression or negative emotional challenges.”
On Sept. 29, the Carleton University Scenario Planning Working Group finalized its recommendation that the winter semester should proceed online, with some leeway for selected optional instruction on campus.
Despite being disappointed about not returning to campus in January, Mason Bugaresti, a second-year Carleton student, said he understands the decision to continue online learning across many universities.
“I’m not excited about winter being online, but I’d rather be safe and compromise in-person learning as opposed to compromising my physical health,” Bugaresti said.
In addition to Carleton, McGill University, Queen’s University, the University of Regina, University of Windsor, Ryerson University, University of Saskatchewan, Brock University, and McMaster have also decided to continue with an online semester.
Other Canadian universities are expected to make decisions about their winter semester structure in the upcoming weeks.
Featured image by Arthur Daniel
