Students at Providence University College will be back together in the classroom this year as the school gets ready for another year. 

"Last year was an interesting year," says Nicholas Greco, the Provost pro tem at Providence University College and Theological Seminary in Otterburne, Man.

"We had in-person classes for September and October. But When Winnipeg moved into the orange critical level and then red, we had to cancel in-person classes and moved fully into the online model for the remainder of the fall and winter schedule,"

For the 2021-2022 semesters, Providence is glad to welcome students back into the classroom. 

"We will be in person and we're so happy to say that. We are looking forward to doing what we do best, which is have students in the classroom. We found many students don't always succeed when they're online and so we're happy to have them in class," says Greco.

There will be certain restrictions in place for all students come the beginning of September.

These include:

  • Answer the self-screening questions before coming to campus. 
  • Maintain social (physical) distancing of two metres (six feet) from others in indoor public spaces.
  • Non-medical masks are mandatory in all indoor public spaces (Ex. In hallways, cafeteria line-ups, library, MTH Hub, and other shared spaces). Masks are also mandatory during classes. We expect all members of the Providence community to respect one another and only remove their masks in private spaces if all members present feel comfortable. Exceptions may be made to this rule for specific circumstances, as determined by the COVID-19 Response Team.
  • Practice good hand hygiene throughout your time on campus and wash your hands  
  • Uphold the dignity of and respect all people, regardless of vaccination status, symptoms, or if they have received a positive COVID-19 test result.
  • Monitor your Providence email address frequently in case of changes to Public Health guidelines or to the Providence COVID-19 Policy. 
  • Providence highly encourages all students and employees to receive full vaccination before beginning their time as a member of the Providence community. Students and employees who are close contacts or have tested positive for COVID-19 should be prepared to provide information to Health Links or healthcare professionals on whether they have been vaccinated or have had COVID-19.

"We followed the recommendations of Manitoba Public Health and so one of their recommendations was that there be masks worn and physical distance be maintained, so we've done that," he says.

For students returning, or coming onto campus for the first time, masks will be required for everyone while indoors. The campus isn't requiring vaccines for students, but they do highly recommend them.

Providence will have an in-person Welcome Week for students and then classes start-up again on September 7, the Tuesday after the long weekend.

"We will have events all through that first week of school culminating in a banquet for students. That weekend we will have a concert with Bold As Lions here on campus, which will be open to the community."

The buildings housing students are open once more, which is good news for the University's International community. 

"We're hoping International students will be able to come to Providence, because we do have a global reach, and there are federal guidelines in place for that."

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