Dear ECU community,

I hope you have all been able to enjoy the holiday break, including some much needed rest and relaxation. We continue to monitor the rapidly changing situation resulting from the Omicron variant. After careful consideration, we have decided to delay the beginning of the Spring 2022 term by one week. We will begin the term on Monday, January 10.

As previously announced, classes will be online until January 24, 2022.

This decision was made under advisement by the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Training, with the support of the Public Health Office, and approved by ECU Senate. The delay will provide additional planning time for faculty, technicians, as well as our Teaching & Learning Centre and IT Services teams, and other staff to prepare for the temporary shift to online learning.

This shift will require an adjustment to other dates in the Spring 2022 Academic Calendar, including the last date of classes, the exam and assessment period, and the grad submission deadline. These adjustments will be determined at the next ECU Senate meeting on January 24, 2022. The dates for Study Week (February 22-26, 2022) will remain the same.

Campus operations and services will still resume on Tuesday, January 4 as scheduled. I know many of you were looking forward to increased in-person instruction and campus life this term. I want to stress that we have every intention of resuming these planned activities. Our hope is that this delayed start will allow us to prepare for a smooth, safe return to campus for all our students.

If you have not yet filled out our °ÄÃŽðɳ_°ÄÃŶIJ©ÓÎÏ·-±ØÓ®ÓéÀÖÊ×Ò³ vaccination survey, please do so now.

I appreciate your patience with these changes. We are continuing to adapt as the provincial situation evolves, and will keep you informed of any decisions that impact your work or studies at Emily Carr. I look forward to seeing you all on campus soon.

Sincerely,

Gillian Siddall
President + Vice-Chancellor.