COVID-19: Faculty-specific updates

As you know, the Faculty of Health Sciences is in a unique position here at the University. Our students carry out clinical and practical placements throughout their education. Many of us are in frequent contact with vulnerable individuals and essential health care workers. We have an increased responsibility to protect the health of each other and the community. Masking and vaccination are our best tools to protect ourselves and the people we serve.

Therefore, to help ensure the safety of our students, faculty, staff, clinical partners, clients, and patients, the Faculty of Health Sciences will continue to require mask wearing until further notice in the following cases. You are expected to continue to follow the Ottawa Public Health guidelines.

Roger Guindon Campus (RGN)

For any activity due to its proximity to hospitals.

Research

Individuals accessing the Alta Vista Campus (Roger Guindon and Peter Morand buildings), masks will remain mandatory. If you are conducting research activities at other sites, you can still mandate the usage of masks in your research labs and protocols if you deem this necessary for the safety of the research participants and the staff.

Teaching

Faculty of Health Sciences’ students and professors require wearing masks during all practical teaching laboratories (at any location at the uOttawa) as well as in person lectures at the Alta Vista Campus (Roger Guindon and Peter Morand buildings)

For the practical teaching laboratory sessions that are conducted on site at the University, the current laboratory protocols within your programs will remain in place until further notice.

Students who have as part of their academic programs, clinical placements/fieldwork, will be obliged to continue to follow all the requirements that the health care setting have in place concerning masking and other COVID-19 protocols (e.g., vaccination, isolation requirements).

We know how challenging the last two years have been for you. We appreciate your cooperation, and we are here to support you. Do not hesitate to reach out for help.

uOttawa suspends masking and vaccination requirements as of May 31st

In light of the recent relaxation of public health restrictions in Ontario, the University of Ottawa will suspend masking and proof of vaccination requirements for entry to campus, effective May 31.

As we have seen throughout the pandemic, it is difficult to predict the evolution of the virus and the emergence of new variants. This decision could be reversed at any point in the future depending on public health guidelines and the recommendations of experts.

We strongly recommend that all members of our community be fully vaccinated and get a third dose as advised by public health authorities. Although masks will no longer be mandatory, we encourage everyone to do what they feel is safest for them. Please respect everyone’s individual preference.

The last two years have been an extraordinarily challenging time for all of us. We thank you for playing your part in keeping our campus safe, and we trust that we will all continue to be vigilant to keep ourselves and the people around us safe and healthy.

Read the current guidelines.

Following the President’s announcement regarding a return to campus, here are some important details on Faculty of Health Sciences course delivery, starting January 31, 2022. As always, we continue to monitor the situation closely and work with public health to ensure a smooth transition while respecting health measures.

Lectures that were to be delivered in person and in hybrid mode with an assigned classroom during the Winter term must include a significant in person component between January 31 and the end of the Winter term 2022.

You registered for these courses knowing that they would be offered in person and our wish is to get as close as possible to this format, again while respecting the new health measures put in place as of January 31, 2022. Know that we have asked our Professors to clearly indicate (on the syllabus and Brightspace) each course date/activity taking place in person between January 31 and the end of the Winter term 2022.

The winter 2022 course schedule is available on the uOttawa Class Search Tool and will show the details of course delivery.

However, it is too early to predict with any certainty how the winter 2022 term courses will be delivered - it all depends on the progress of the pandemic and associated public health measures as well as classroom availability. However, we hope that many courses will be offered in person in the winter 2022 term, with perhaps some hybrid courses (which would include in-person components) and some that will be offered online/virtually.

Thus, we anticipate that the mode of course delivery for the winter 2022 term will change depending on the progress of the vaccination campaign and the potential easing of public health measures. For example, if Ottawa Public Health confirms that physical distancing is no longer required, we will modify the details on the uOttawa Class Search Tool to offer a greater number of courses in person as soon as the start of the term (January 2022), depending on the availability of classrooms/space:

• Professors will be consulted no later than September/October to change the mode of delivery of winter 2022 Term courses.
• Our Faculty will not offer the choice between an in-person section and a virtual/distance section for undergraduate courses. All sections of undergraduate courses will be offered only in person, or conversely, only virtually/online. Only the courses already identified on the course schedule as hybrid (which means that all students registered in the course participate in the in-person components and in the virtual/distance components) will remain as such.
• Depending on the Schools within the Faculty of Health Sciences, some graduate courses will be offered in a bimodal delivery, with some in person students and some virtual/distance students.
• Changes to the mode of course delivery for the winter 2022 term will be posted for students and professors on the uOttawa Class Search Tool no later than October 31.

Therefore, we strongly encourage all students enrolled in Faculty of Health Sciences programs who are not registered in courses that include an in-person component for the fall 2021 Term to find accommodation in the Ottawa area at least for the winter 2022 Term to facilitate course selection and their advancement in their program (except for students registered in the Master of Science Nursing – Distance).