I know many of you have made plans to return at the beginning of January but, given the recent developments around the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the university has made the proactive decision to temporarily suspend the process of returning employees to work on campus and to move Winter term classes to online delivery from January 5 to 21. MacEwan is exercising an abundance of caution: slowing our return-to-campus plans and temporarily moving to online delivery will help protect the safety and well-being of our community – and the community around us.

If you currently work from home, your day-to-day routine should continue as usual. Wherever possible, employees who have been working on campus should return to working remotely. Exceptions are faculty delivering on-campus instruction and employees whose duties cannot be performed remotely. Please speak with your manager or dean if you have any questions.

University buildings will remain open in January. If you must come to campus, you are required to wear a mask and to be fully vaccinated, or provide proof of a negative COVID test.

While we will continue to be responsive to changes, I want to emphasize that this is a temporary measure and that our goal is to bring all of us safely back to campus during the Winter term. We will revisit this decision in January and send updates via email and on the university website. 

Thank you for your ongoing understanding and patience.

Dr. Annette Trimbee
President and Vice-Chancellor

Originally distributed by GlobalMail on December 21