In an internal email to faculty and staff on May 12, the University shared preliminary plans for course delivery in the fall term.

According to a post shared on Reddit, Mark Green, provost and vice-principal (academic), wrote that the University will “likely” face “significant restrictions” on classroom space because of the anticipated continuation of physical distancing measures in September.

“[M]ost course delivery will need to be done through remote means in the fall, even if students are physically present in Kingston,” Green wrote.

The email asks faculty and staff to accelerate their efforts in planning for remote course delivery in the fall. While the email says there’s “no expectation” that faculties develop backup plans for a fully on-campus and in-person fall term, there may be opportunities for limited, in-person, course-related activities if a significant number of students are able to return to campus in the fall.

These activities can include a guest lecture or a lab demonstration in a large auditorium, or small in-person seminars or program offerings.

To accommodate two-metre physical distancing measures, classroom capacities will likely be reduced to 10 to 25 per cent of their normal capacity.  

“Our students will rightly want our remote offerings to be more advanced than those developed on short notice in March,” Green wrote.

The email also identifies programs which have been designated as priorities for consistent on-campus delivery, including professional programs in the Faculty of Health Sciences and research graduate Master’s, PhD, and some professional graduate and second-entry programs, such as Law. 

This story is developing and will be updated with more information.