To our U of T Engineering community
Reaching out to update you with the latest and share what this means for us here in U of T Engineering. Based on the current information from public health officials and our governments, U of T continues to adjust to safeguard the health of our students, staff and faculty. The latest changes outlined by the Provost include:
- All University buildings will be closed as of 11:59 pm, March 17, 2020 to the general public. Members of the University community will need key or fob access to enter them.
- Libraries at the University of Toronto will be closed as of 11:59 pm, March 17, 2020. Robarts will be open to members of the U of T community with limited staff.
- U of T will continue to provide residences for those students who cannot return home at this point.
- Any employee who can work from home should do so.
- Student support operations should move online and many have already made this transition — the Registrar’s and First Year Offices have gone virtual to continue to continue to serve students.
- If you have IT or equipment needs that would enable staff to work remotely, please contact your departmental IT teams who have been working extremely hard on this.
- All lab-based research operations must be shut down no later than 5 pm, Friday March 20, 2020.
- I’m asking researchers to be flexible and creative in how you support your research-stream graduate students and what can be moved online.
- Sharing this COVID-19 Lab Preparedness Checklist you may find useful.
- If you have specific questions about adapting your research or incorporating social distancing in your labs, please start by contacting your respective Associate Chairs – Research, and they will confer with Ramin Farnood as Vice-Dean, Research, as needed.
- We’ve also established a Research Continuity page on the Faculty & Staff Hub and will keep this updated with the latest.
I know many of you are wondering about final assessments and options for exams — I have heard may of your ideas and concerns. We will also be sharing info on plans for assessments later this week — we are working on solutions that best serve our students and allow our professors and instructors to deliver their courses in a meaningful way.
I realise that this is a very complex, challenging and uncertain moment for all of us and I thank everyone for everything that they are doing and will continue to do. We will make this work.
Chris
Christopher Yip
Dean
Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
University of Toronto
March 15, 2020 | 2:00pm
To our U of T Engineering community
We’re continuing to make adjustments to our plans to find creative ways to keep the semester going as best we can. We’re also listening to your concerns and feedback, and we know that many of our students are faced with difficult decisions about whether and when to return home given the increasing challenges with international travel.
We have decided that all U of T Engineering undergraduate and course-based Master’s of Engineering (MEng) students will not be required to return to the St. George campus in person for the Winter 2020 session. This includes UTIAS.
Course work will continue with online alternatives. Students, please keep checking Quercus for info from each of your course instructors on how these adjustments will affect your courses, labs and exams. Students registered with Accessibility Services should continue to contact Accessibility Services to receive accommodations and supports.
I’ll be following up directly with faculty members with more details on completion of term work and final exams as I get that info.
My thanks to our entire community for your strength and flexibility during this unpredictable time.
Chris
Christopher Yip
Dean
Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
University of Toronto
To all Engineering students, staff and faculty
I know the last few weeks, and especially the past few days, have been really hectic, unpredictable, and frankly confusing.
The COVID-19 situation is moving really quickly and I know that this has affected each and every one of us, both academically and personally.
I want to be really open and clear in sharing what is going on, because it is such a quickly evolving situation.
Since my note this earlier morning, I’d like to answer questions that many of you have raised — and in particular to thank you for being frank in your comments.
- Physical lab spaces — including computing (ECF) labs and undergraduate teaching labs and makerspaces (Myhal Light Fabrication Facility) where people gather — will be closed. Research laboratories overseen by faculty members will remain open.
- At this time, students are encouraged to stay home or in residence and access course content online. We may all still be back on campus for exams after April 9 — I’ll let everyone know what is happening around final exams as I find out more from the University.
- I’m asking managers and chairs to be flexible in accommodating staff requests to work from home where it’s feasible for them to do so. For faculty and staff — info on how to set yourself up to work remotely are here: https://uofteng.ca/workingfromhome
- For students, info on how to remotely access ECF can be found here:
I will also be sending out a separate email directly to faculty, instructors and TAs outlining some ideas and options for alternative ways to deliver your course content.
Students, please keep checking Quercus for updates on your courses.
Everyone at the University is trying to make decisions that protect our health and wellness, and that uphold continuity as best we can. This is really a complex and unprecedented situation — and we know that we’re not going to get every single thing right.
We are trying to be flexible and make good calls — adaptability is key.
I’ll provide updates as soon as I get them and keep everyone in the loop.
I thank everyone for all your efforts in helping us manage through this very weird situation.
Chris
Christopher Yip
Dean
Faculty of Applied Science & Engineering
University of Toronto