Supporting our students over the Winter Session break

A message from Santa J. Ono, President and Vice-Chancellor

As many of you have noted, there have been extraordinary pressures on our students, faculty and staff this year due to COVID-19.

Thank you once again to all our faculty who transitioned to teaching online, as well as our staff who continue to support the university remotely and provide essential on-campus services.

As we head towards the end of 2020, I am pleased to confirm that both our Vancouver and Okanagan Senates have agreed to help alleviate the pressure on our community by delaying the start of classes in most programs for Winter Session Term 2 to January 11, 2021. The hope is that by allowing a delayed start to classes, we can help our students, faculty and staff to better prepare for Winter Session Term 2.

Recognizing that certain programs cannot accommodate a delayed start, in particular some professional programs, there will be exceptions and these programs will start on January 4, 2021. Both campuses have also changed their examination schedules to ensure examinations are still completed in April. For UBC Okanagan, this primarily means moving to four examination times per day, and for UBC Vancouver that examinations may be held on Sundays. Further updates will be issued in the coming weeks.

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