Sept 1, 2021: Alberta University of the Arts President Dr. Daniel Doz announced today in a message to students, faculty and staff the following changes to the back to campus health and safety measures for Fall semester 2021.
Delay of Most In-Person Classes
- For the first two weeks of the semester, most classes will be held online starting Wednesday, September 8, 2021.
- Exemption: There are specific studio classes* that are exempt, these studio classes will be held on campus, in-person starting Wednesday, September 8, 2021. (*More details on these classes below.)
- We plan to commence all in-person classes for all programs on-campus starting Wednesday, September 22, 2021.
Studio Class Exemption
The specific studio classes will start on-campus on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 due to the very small number of students accessing campus daily. These specific studio classes will not require rapid testing to access campus until the mandatory testing program is formally launched.
COVID-19 Rapid Testing
The delay in the return to campus is to accommodate putting the rapid testing program in place. Rapid testing is mandatory, and must take place within 72 hours of accessing campus for those who are not fully vaccinated, or if you prefer to not disclose your vaccination status.
Full Annoucement
An Important Message on behalf of AUArts President Dr. Daniel Doz
Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
This is an important update as there are changes to the start of classes next week and AUArts health and safety measures. The health, safety and wellbeing of students, faculty and staff remain our priority. We need to constantly adapt to sometimes rapidly evolving pandemic circumstances, such as the rise in the Delta variant.
Delay of Most In-Person Classes
- For the first two weeks of the semester, most classes will be held online starting Wednesday, September 8, 2021.
- Exemption: There are specific studio classes* that are exempt, these studio classes will be held on campus, in-person starting Wednesday, September 8, 2021. (*More details on these classes below.)
- We plan to commence all in-person classes for all programs on-campus starting Wednesday, September 22, 2021.
Studio Class Exemption
The specific studio classes will start on-campus on Wednesday, September 8, 2021 due to the very small number of students accessing campus daily. These specific studio classes will not require rapid testing to access campus until the mandatory testing program is formally launched.
COVID-19 Rapid Testing
The delay in the return to campus is to accommodate putting the rapid testing program in place. Rapid testing is mandatory, and must take place within 72 hours of accessing campus for those who are not fully vaccinated, or if you prefer to not disclose your vaccination status.
We know there are many questions about how the rapid testing program will work, and we hope to share those details with you by the end of the week. This is a large endeavor for AUArts to deploy and we appreciate your patience while we pull together the resources and infrastructure necessary for it to be successful.
Voluntary Disclosure of Vaccination
If you choose to voluntarily disclose that you are fully vaccinated, you are exempt and are not required to undergo mandatory rapid testing. More information on voluntary disclosure will follow shortly.
SAIT Vaccination Clinic
SAIT and Alberta Health Services will be hosting a COVID-19 vaccination clinic for students on Thursday, September 9 in the Orpheus Theatre from 09:30am to 3:30pm. All AUArts students are welcome to attend.
All other health and safety details in the previous email date August 20 remain in place. I realize there have been many changes, some last minute and I recognize how challenging these sudden changes are for each of you. Thank you for your resilience and understanding as we continue to adapt to this unpredictable pandemic situation.
Regards,
Daniel
Dr. Daniel Doz
President and CEO