Return to campus FAQ

Updated Tuesday May 31, 2022

This document contains guidance for instructors and students regarding on and off campus learning in Fall 2022. 

Definitions:

REMOTE / ONLINE / VIRTUAL - A single class/section that is entirely online/remote. 

IN-PERSON / ON-CAMPUS - a single class/section on-campus in a classroom, with all students in-person with the instructor in the classroom. 

HYBRID -  A single class/section with some in-person students and some online students. The instructor is on-campus. 

As a starting point, please be aware of how the Toronto Metropolitan University and Toronto Public Health will react to any cases on campus. Details are available on this site. Please pay special attention to the following statement: 

“An outbreak would be declared when two or more laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases with an epidemiological link are identified in the workplace, institution or school (e.g., same class, same work area, same shift or activity, etc.) within a 14-day period where both cases could have reasonably acquired their infection in the same space.”

How are Journalism courses being offered?

On 09 June, the university announced that TMU is planning for a full return to in-person teaching and learning for fall 2022.

What health measures are in place for the Spring/Summer semester?

On 27 May, the university announced that the  Face Mask Policy will be suspended effective June 1, 2022.

Should I be planning to move to Toronto in September?

According to the university, yes.

What will classroom distancing requirements be?

We expect the province and the university will advise us that there will be no distancing requirements. Information around distancing is subject to change. Please check back for more information.

What happens if I can’t come to campus for classes?

TBA.

When will the Fall 2022 schedule be available?

TBA.

How do I know if a course is in-person or virtual?

You can check on MyServiceHub.

In-Person Courses: Courses that will be eventually held in-person will indicate a room (usually 3 letters and 3 numbers, such as POD999). 

Virtual Courses: Courses that indicate “VIRTUAL Classroom” under the room, will be held online for the entirety of the semester.

Students can confirm instructions for joining courses remotely via their D2L course profile in my.torontomu, which will be updated by the week of their first class meeting. Courses that indicate “VIRTUAL Classroom” under the room, will be held online for the entirety of the semester.

Hybrid courses will appear with room numbers even if you’re a remote student in the hybrid class. Check with your instructor to ensure that you’re in the remote section or are marked as a remote student. 

I'm in a hybrid class, and I join class virtually but my schedule says on-campus and gives a room number. 

This can be confusing. If you are in a hybrid class that is a single section (where a single classroom contains both on-campus and virtual students), only the on-campus info will be present on the schedule. You will be able to remain virtual if the class is on the list above and you've made your needs known to the school. 

What happens if an on-campus student in a hybrid class needs to switch to the remote learning cohort?

There are many reasons an on-campus student would need to switch to the remote part of a hybrid course. Perhaps they have a cold and therefore would not pass the daily health screening to come to campus, or someone in their household has covid and they have to isolate, or perhaps they are unwell and don’t want to miss class. 

For hybrid classes, all reasonable adjustments should be made to allow for on-campus students to switch to the remote part. If there is a single hybrid section, this can be done by giving the student the synchronous zoom link and/or the asynchronous class files. If the class is part of a multi-section delivery, the student may need to temporarily or permanently switch from an on-campus to a remote section of the hybrid lab. The instructor should reach out to the school for advice on this. 

What happens if a student in an on-campus only class cannot attend class?

The university’s official guidance is that this should be handled per the pre-pandemic absence/accommodation processes. However,  there are many reasons a student would not be able to attend class in person in Winter 2022 beyond what would be expected in previous years. Perhaps they have a cold and therefore would not pass the daily health screening to come to campus, or someone in their household has covid and they have to isolate, or perhaps they are unwell and don’t want to miss class. Given that it’s winter, this could mean that large groups of students would be absent from on-campus learning.  For example, someone with a typical winter cold cannot come to campus as they normally would have in previous years. 

In these instances, it’s imperative that instructors give students the opportunity to make up work by ensuring they are available for one-on-one office hours, and that slides and learning materials are uploaded to D2L on-time. 

If several students are missing all at once, the instructor is encouraged to inform the class that they will temporarily switch to zoom for the week. 

What happens if an on-campus or hybrid instructor cannot attend class in person?

There are many reasons an instructor would not be able to attend class in person in Winter 2022 beyond what would be expected in previous years. Perhaps they have a cold and therefore would not pass the daily health screening to come to campus, or someone in their household has covid and they have to isolate, or perhaps they are unwell and don’t want to miss class. Given that it’s winter, this could mean that an instructor with a typical winter cold cannot come to campus as they normally would have in previous years. 

In these instances, it’s imperative that the instructor informs the class that they will temporarily switch to zoom for the week, ideally with one or two day’s notice. 

I’m a hybrid and/or on-campus instructor; should I record all my lectures in case a student misses class and needs them?

This is up to you. Hybrid delivery that is asynchronous is already set to be recorded. Synchronous hybrid delivery is already set to be live-streamed. For solely on-campus delivery, you can opt to use zoom in the on-campus classroom  to record your audio along with your slides, however, this would only be suitable if you are teaching in a style that does require you to move around the room consistently. As long as slides and other learning materials are available to students in a timely manner, together with one-on-one office hours, on-campus classes don’t need to be recorded for now. 

Where can I find the most up-to-date information on the School?

Please keep an eye on our social media accounts (Twitter (external link) /Instagram (external link) /Facebook (external link) ) and your university email inbox for updates on Winter 2022 plans. 

If you have any questions that we may have missed, please email office.journalism@torontomu.ca