In the past two weeks, LA&PS has migrated from classroom to an online-only format for the first time in our history! Across the Faculty, departments and support services were asked to adapt with short notice, all while keeping students top of mind. Thanks to the hard work of our dedicated staff and faculty, this monumental task was accomplished.
While the campus is physically closed, LA&PS is still fully operating remotely. Over 1,400 courses are now being taught online. Professors have revised their course plans and have been skillfully engaging their students through new mediums. Moving classes online was a massive undertaking with many challenges. Our remarkable team in eServices worked night and day to make sure instructors had the support they needed to deliver their lessons. This included the creation of 300 new Moodle course sites as well as migrating all course evaluations to online.
In support of staff, eServices has also provided around the clock remote support, prepared and loaned out approximately 60 laptops to accommodate work from home arrangements and provided step by step instructions for things like MyApps, VPN, and Zoom. Many of these resources and more can be found on the brand new Working Remotely website.
Our Academic Advising team has remained available to students in need of support and guidance. In the last week, the team has directly interacted with over 1,000 students, nearly 500 of which were one-on-one academic advising appointments online. Students can meet with an advisor through email, phone or by Zoom. The team is looking to set up ‘Drop-in’ hours as well.
The LA&PS Internship program continues to offer workshops and book student appointments through virtual formats. So far, more than 30 students have already attended remote Internship Information & Resume/Cover Letter workshops. In addition, the Experiential Education team has been encouraging partners to seek work-from-home arrangements for students who are currently on a work term. Our tech-savvy students are already adding real value to businesses and community organizations during this challenging time.
One LA&PS student, Amin Akhtar, who is on an internship with the Royal Bank of Canada was pleased to be transitioned with the rest of the company to work from home. Their manager reported that they “have continued to perform at an outstanding level throughout these uncertain times.”
Programs and departments are also supporting students forced to leave credited placements because of COVID-19. For example, the Field Education Program in Social Work has devised processes to support alternative ways to help students complete their placements and ensure that they can meet the accreditation standards set at the national level. They have conducted Zoom meetings with undergraduate and graduate students to provide reassurance and support.
The Faculty has found multiple ways to connect with colleagues working remotely. Beyond day-to-day work duties, teams across all units have organized daily check-ins, group activities and other ways to stay positive. Colleagues in advising have organized a “team plank” on Zoom every day at 2:50 PM – so far, they’ve reached 45 seconds, and hope to work up to 60 seconds by the end of the week. Other teams host a morning chat, share uplifting pictures, or have ‘after-work drinks’ on Zoom.
Vina Sandher from the School of Social Work notes some of the benefits to the situation. “We feel closer as a team even though we are not physically close right now,” said Sandher. “Somehow this remote contact has really developed a strong bond amongst us that ‘we are all in this together.’”
Indeed, we are all in this together.