Students at Queen’s University, in Kingston, Ont., received an email Sunday night, announcing changes to exam delivery methods.
“With the rising cases of COVID-19 within our student population, and in consultation with KFL&A Public Health, Queen’s University is discontinuing in-person exams in Kingston effective immediately,” an email to students said.
The Kingston, Frontenac and Lennox and Addington Public Health office report that the region’s status is red and 190 new cases were reported in Kingston.
Maya Daien, a third-year kinesiology student at Queen’s, was annoyed at the stress it caused her, only for it to be moved and put online.
“If the announcement didn’t come out the night before my exam, I would’ve been less stressed. But for them to not be in person is definitely still a relief,” Daien said.
Originally, students were told they were required to write exams in person or defer them to January 2022. However, cases in Kingston have climbed dramatically recently.
Daien couldn’t understand why Queen’s continued to push back, despite pleas from students and increasing case numbers on campus.
“My sister, who’s in first year, where it was really going around, told me my friends are having to go to their exams knowing that they potentially were exposed, but what are our options,” she said.
“They didn’t even make it easy to do the right thing,” Daien said.
“It felt like when COVID was actually an issue, they were radio silent. When it’s a problem, [they’re] not doing anything,” Daien said.
The student body galvanized to push back.
A petition, which garnered more than 6,500 signatures, urged the school to reverse course delivery amid growing concerns of COVID-19 cases — due to the worrisome Omicron variant — and move exams online.
Then, on Sunday, Dec. 11, an email sent to students said, “all remaining in-person exams scheduled for the remainder of the examination period to Dec. 22, will be changed to an alternative delivery format wherever possible.”
A similar petition at Humber College that called for more hybrid classes for the Winter 2022 semester found some success after the administration cut down on in-person classes.
Cities across Ontario continue to see rising COVID-19 case numbers including Toronto which reported 498 new cases on Wednesday.
Colleges and universities in the province are continuing to monitor the evolving COVID-19 situation, especially as Omicron continues to grow in its dominance.
The University of Toronto told Humber Et Cetera it continues to follow public health advice and provincial regulations.
“As we have since the pandemic began, we are consulting with public health experts and will adjust our plans as needed,” U of T said in a statement.
Alissa Da Silva, 19, who attends the U of T for humanities, said the move is understandable, but also slightly concerning.
“What concerns me about the cancellation of my exams is how easily courses can take a drastic turn,” she said. “As the University has outlined, exams cannot be rescheduled or moved online, which means we will be evaluated on whatever work we submitted previously.
“With the rising risk of the Omicron variant, I understand that in-person sessions must be halted for public safety and security,” she said. “I believe that the University of Toronto should ask students for their Ucheck status more often, especially when entering lecture halls or otherwise crowded areas.”
The school announced on Wednesday that effective yesterday, in-person exams would be moved online and most in-person learning would be delayed until Jan. 31, to help curb the spread of COVID-19.
Derek Stockley, associate vice-president of academics at Humber College, echoed those sentiments, but added that Humber is proud of the resiliency and adaptability of its students, faculty and administration and is prepared for what the future brings.
“All of our staff, from faculty inside the classroom to everyone who supports our community outside of it, has shown their ability to change to what new challenges the pandemic presents,” Stockley said in a statement.
With files from Nicholas Seles