Rising COVID-19 cases on campus prompt several universities to cancel in-person exams

A spike in COVID-19 infections has led a number of Canadian post-secondary schools to cancel in-person exams for the end of term, including the University of Victoria.

It comes after at least 30 students at the University of Victoria tested positive for the virus following two off-campus parties.

Read more: Rise in COVID-19 cases prompts UVic to suspend all in-person exams for December

The post-secondary institution told students on Friday that despite the cluster of cases, the exam schedule would remain as it was.

But Sunday, with only a day’s notice, UVic changed course and announced all in-person exams would be held online instead.

“We know this is short notice for those with exams scheduled for Monday, and we are reaching out to instructors with guidance to make this transition as smooth as possible,” the school wrote in an online post on Sunday.

The Island Health region is emerging as the latest COVID-19 hot spot in the province, with the most cases of any health authority reported on Friday as well as the most overall active cases.

Despite high average vaccination rates on Vancouver Island, there are still areas with lower rates and higher daily cases.

The areas with the lowest vaccination are Cowichan Valley West and Vancouver Island West with second dose vaccination rates lower than 80 per cent.

University of Victoria not the only post secondary school to cancel it’s in-person exams.

Queens University in Ontario, which also requires 100 per cent vaccination rates on campus, cancelled in-person exams over the weekend.

Plus, all students are encouraged to get tested for COVID-19 before leaving campus for winter break, in hopes of ensuring the students do not spread the virus further.

Any student who has not been tested is being told to self-isolate and seek a PCR test as soon as possible.

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St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia also cancelled in-person exams over the weekend due to a current outbreak.

School president Dr. Andy Hakin issued an apology for allowing a big campus celebration to be held, leading to a surge in cases.

“Please know that we deeply regret the consequences of the activities which should have been celebratory occasions for our university and community. Hearing how the virus is impacting our campus and our wider community is simply heartbreaking,” Hakin wrote in the Facebook post.

Hakin said three members of the leadership team, including himself, have all tested positive for COVID-19.

Meanwhile, on the Mainland, Kristin Linklater, executive director of communications and marketing at SFU, says the university has been taking direction and guidance with Public Health “to ensure the continued safety of the university community.”

“At this time, we have no plans to shift in-person exams to an alternative format. We are very proud of the work and due diligence that our community has taken to follow COVID-19 safety precautions and protocols, including implementing many layers of protection,” Linklater says.

UBC’s Alma Mater Society (AMS) — which is is a student-led nonprofit organization — told CityNews in an email statement, because of the lack of case count data at the university, “it is difficult for the AMS to assess the current risk to students.”

“Students are unfortunately in a situation in which they have no choice but to trust the university administration to make the right decisions without any context to be able to hold them accountable.”

AMS claims the lack of data to allow students to make their own health decisions is “unlike many other post-secondary institutions in Canada.”

If UBC modifies exam schedules because of the virus, the AMS says it would support the decision.

“However, it is important that whatever decisions are made are communicated clearly and as soon as possible to students, faculty, and staff,” the AMS adds.

Push for more data

Many universities have been calling for more information regarding COVID-19 on campus since in-person teaching resumed in September after a year of virtual learning due to the pandemic.

Earlier this month, the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association launched a petition to “Notify BC Post-Secondary of COVID-19 exposures” over concerns the “lack of official information as led to uncertainty, misinformation and added stress in an already difficult time.”

Several University of British Columbia students and staff say they want exams to be moved off campus as well, pointing to a COVID-19 exposure at a residence building as a cause for concern.

In a statement to CityNews, UBC says it is not switching to online exams as, “the issues faced by other universities are unique to them and are not being seen in our campus jurisdictions. We will continue to work closely with Vancouver Coastal Health, Interior Health and the Provincial Health Office to continue to ensure our operations protect the health and safety of our communities.”

.@UBC says it’s currently not thinking about shifting in-person exams to online. It says schools that have made the shift are dealing w/ issues unique to them. Over the weekend, 3 universities, including @uvic, cancelled in-person exams b/c of spike in COVID cases. @CityNewsVAN pic.twitter.com/pFl0dGgyz4

— Monika Gul (@MonikaGul) December 13, 2021

Dr. Omar Khan, a University of Toronto professor of biomedical engineering and immunology, applauds taking targeted steps to respond to outbreaks.

“What we’ve learned after we got vaccines widely distributed around the country, more granular decisions were always left up to the local public health unit. So that’s really great to see that people are reacting to what’s in their local health area. That’s really the best way to do it. At this point doing something blanket might not be efficient but really responding to something that’s happening on the ground is very important.” he said.

“It shows you that your public health officials are taking it seriously and making cautious decisions,” he says about bringing restrictions in where there are increased cases, and not doing so in areas with low case rates.

He says especially with the holidays and the new Omicron variant, little steps can be helpful to slow down the spread.

Dr. Dionne Aleman agrees. The professor of industrial engineering at the University of Toronto has an expertise in pandemic planning and says moving a test online is a simple step to take.

“It can dramatically cut down on the number of contacts and the length of time with those contacts that students might be having with infected classmates, especially as students are all about to go home to their families which might contain grandparents or older family members,” Aleman said.

She says there could be changes ahead for the winter semester but experts will have to monitor those case counts day by day.

“It really is too soon to say. There’s a lot of uncertainty about Omicron,” she said.

But she does say masks and vaccines need to be required on campus, and need to be enforced, in order to mitigate more cases.

B.C.’s provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry has not made vaccinations mandatory for students to attend class, but some universities such as UBC are requiring students to be immunized or face additional testing.

However, residences do fall under provincial health orders and any student living in a residence building must have their shots.