A majority of classes will remain online until February 7.
In a UBC Broadcast posted earlier this morning, President Santa Ono told students they should plan to be on campus in early February.
“This decision was made in consultation with the Deans on both campuses, academic heads and directors, student leadership, union groups and associations. Faculties and academic units will provide further details on specific programs and courses,” Ono wrote.
The university will provide more information on its return to in-person classes the week of January 24.
While information on specific faculties is still being released, the faculty of applied science told students it will have some in-person lab, group projects, capstone projects and studios. The faculty said students would know by January 14 which classes will have in-person components. Allard School of Law will return to full in-person instruction on January 24.
UBC announced that most classes would be online until January 24 on December 22 following student outcry over in-person exams.
While classes remain online, student housing, library and other services will remain open, according to Ono. In regard to university staff, Ono encouraged managers and supervisors to be flexible and allow remote work, unless in-person work remains necessary.
The Omicron wave in BC has not yet shown signs of slowing. 469 people are currently in hospital with COVID-19. The province added over 2,000 new cases of COVID-19 yesterday, but that number does not include the results of rapid tests. However, Provincial Health Officer Bonnie Henry said changes to accessibility and guidance around PCR testing could mean case counts underrepresent the actual number of COVID-19 infections in the province.
Testing positivity in the UBC neighbourhood currently sits at 40 per cent, by far the highest percentage the neighbourhood has ever seen. Province wide, testing positivity is at 23.6 per cent as of January 10.
Simon Fraser University wrote in an email to students yesterday that it would be opening up on January 24, as planned. Henry strongly recommended that universities continue with in-person learning in December.