Dear faculty, students, and staff,

In follow up to the message sent out by the University’s central offices, we are adjusting our approach to end of term exams and the start of Winter Term by:

  • Changing all in-person exams to online as of tomorrow Thursday, December 16. Exams originally scheduled for Thursday, December 16 will be moved to a later date
  • Re-instituting work-from-home for all non-essential faculty and staff effective immediately and until January 31, 2022
  • Delay to in-person learning for the start of the Winter Term by moving online until January 31, 2022
  • Please read the information below carefully.

Exams

All in-person exams will be changed to online format as of December 17, 2021. Any exams originally scheduled to be held on December 16 will be moved to January 2022.

Additional information and instructions will be provided directly to those students who still have exams to complete before the holiday closure.   

We are aware that other faculties may be pursuing a different approach to exams. Understanding the effort students, faculty, and staff put into preparing for exams, and taking into account our unique program requirements, our goal is to maintain our exam schedule to the fullest extent possible.

Faculty and Staff Work from Home

Starting tomorrow, December 16, the University has requested that all non-essential faculty and staff work from home until January 31, 2022. Managers will be in touch with staff to discuss individual work plans.

Delay to in-person learning for Winter Term

Apart from experiential rotations, all in-person learning will be pivoted online until January 31, 2022. Our program leadership teams are currently working through additional plans for lab-based courses and will provide further information in the coming days. 

Building Hours and Access

Starting December 16, 2021, our Faculty building hours will be restricted from 8am to 5pm, Monday to Friday and the building will only be accessible through the main entrance. These restricted building hours will be maintained until further notice. If you have any questions about building access please email Tina Harvey-Kane, Director Facilities Management.

FOB Access for PharmD Students

FOBs currently held by PharmD students will be deactivated until further notice.  Students who have appointments to pick up FOBs for December 16 may do so.  All appointments beginning Friday, December 17 will be cancelled.  As noted, FOBs will not be active for the time being. Undergraduate students on the Research Re-Start list will continue to have normal FOB access.

Study Spaces

During restricted operational hours of 8am to 5pm (Monday to Friday), study spaces will be open for use until 4pm on December 21, 2021 at which point the building will be closed as planned for the University’s holiday closure. On the St George campus Robarts Library and Gerstein Library will be open under regular operating hours for students requiring quiet study space on campus for extended hours. 

We ask that students using the study spaces continue to abide by the following rules to promote safety for all:

  • Complete UCheck each day prior to coming on campus.  Do not come to campus if you feel unwell or receive a red screen.   
  • Complete QR code forms for contact tracing at the main entrance, as well as in designated eating and study spaces, as dictated by building specific requirements. 
  • Masks must continue to be worn in all areas of the building, except while eating and drinking in designated areas.
  • We have designated the Atrium lobby and the Top of the Pod Podium as eating areas.  Students can remove masks during the limited time that eating and drinking is taking place but masks must be redonned when finished or when moving around the areas.  However, physical distancing (at least two meters) must take place while eating and drinking.  These areas are supplied with disinfectant.  Please clean all surfaces after eating/drinking.
  • Eating and drinking in all other areas other than the Atrium lobby and the Top of the Pod is not permitted under any circumstances.

Research Operations

Essential research activities can be maintained at the Faculty. However, in line with the University’s direction for non-essential faculty and staff to work from home, please strive to maintain necessary operations with as few people as possible in labs. We expect further information about any changes to research operations to come over the next few days.  We will communicate those changes as soon as possible along with instructions for updating individual laboratory plans.

Experiential Rotations

Experiential rotations will continue as planned. This means students will continue current rotation placements until Friday, December 17, and resume on January 3, 2022. Students should be aware that many rotation sites have specific safety protocols in place to minimize the risk to patients, staff and learners. Students completing rotations should verify site-specific protocols on CORE ELMS to ensure adherence.   

Responding to a rapidly evolving pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve rapidly, and these measures are intended to be as proactive as possible and to ensure that we at U of T continue to do our part keeping our communities and each other as safe as possible.

Please continue to check your email message regularly to stay up to date with any future changes.

We recognize that these changes come at a time where people are managing many personal and professional responsibilities. We are hopeful that implementing these changes quickly will help reduce the potential impact of the Omicron variant and allow us to return to normal activities as soon as possible.