COVID–19 — Status of summer terms

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As you know, the situation with COVID-19 continues to evolve with new developments on a daily basis. Many in our community are asking what the status of our summer terms will be in the light of these uncertain times.

To aid our students, faculty and staff as they plan, and in clear recognition that current mitigations may need to continue for an as yet undetermined period, I am announcing that Term 1 of Summer Session (running May 11 – June 18) at UBC Vancouver, UBC Okanagan and UBC Robson Square will be online. The Summer Session for Vantage One (Arts, Science and Engineering) programs will also be online.

Please note that online application is simply not available to all courses. In those instances, courses may have to be postponed or redesigned. For classes that cannot be accommodated online, we will be issuing further information through our Faculties. (Faculties and program areas will differ in their approaches to these courses.)

Planning is also underway for the possibility that Term 2 of Summer Session (July 6 – Aug. 13) may need to go online. We will update our community as soon as we determine the final status of the Term 2 of Summer Session.

UBC’s campuses will remain open where possible and university operations will continue as much as possible, per the guidance and directives of health agencies and UBC’s operational imperatives.

These past weeks have seen this university make enormous shifts in its academic delivery and its operations. I know this has added to the stress levels and workloads of all our students, faculty and staff.

I thank all of you for adapting to the challenges as they arise and for your commitment to our university and the wellbeing of our community. As a reminder, you can see the latest updates regarding COVID-19 and UBC’s response at https://www.ubc.ca. This situation will take time to resolve. There will no doubt be more challenges in the days and weeks ahead. We can and will work together to overcome those challenges.

Santa J. Ono
President and Vice-Chancellor


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