With the rising concern of the COVID-19 pandemic, the University of Lethbridge had no choice but to close its doors to keep the safety of staff and students its top priority.
The institution has changed from the busy hustle and bustle of the school year to a deserted campus.
On March 13, the university announced it would be cancelling all classes due to the announcement made by government officials the day before saying there should not be gatherings of more than 250 people. Due to large class sizes, the university had to take all measures to obey the request of Alberta Health Services.
Later that day, the university declared it would be changing its class delivery to alternative methods for the remainder of the semester.
Courtney Dinwoodie, third-year Psychology student said the transition to alternative class methods hasn’t been as smooth as she hoped. She said although she understands the need for the closure, it hasn’t been an easy transition.
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“It makes learning a lot more difficult and harder on us,” she said. “It could have been a little more thought out.”
She mentioned feeling like there was no time to give students an adjustment period. The high standard of work was also still being upheld through the transition despite the quick and often challenging online learning methods.
However, students are not the only ones affected by the coronavirus outbreak. After the Government of Alberta declared a state of emergency on March 17, all employees were strongly encouraged to work from home wherever possible.
Margot Aasman, Financial Officer of the Fine Arts Department said she is happy to see the university’s executive leadership team encouraging the community to self-isolate. She said the university has done an outstanding job to make the employee transition run smoothly.
“In most cases, we are all learning to function in a different locality and I think it’s great to see the community come together to understand the need to isolate ourselves,” she said.
Aasman has since relocated her work to continue her duties from home. Working from home is something she says everyone who is able, should be doing in order to help stop the spread and encourage self-isolation.
