Red River College Polytechnic students voicing concerns about potential return to in-person learning

WINNIPEG -

Students who are part of the Business Administration program at Red River College Polytechnic are raising concerns about a return to in-person learning.

Despite learning remotely for the last year and a half, the college has told students they will be switching back to in-person learning for the final four months of the program.

The switch would come into effect for the winter term which starts on Jan. 4, 2022.

Payton Law, one of the students in the program, said the school has not given them enough notice to plan for the change.

"It has an effect on students that don't live in Winnipeg, like some of us live an hour and a half away," said Law.

"Now we are stuck with the decision if we would like to commute every day or a find a place to rent, and with renting it's kind of difficult too because you have to sign a lease agreement and those are usually for a year or six months."

Emily Sigfusson is another student who is part of the program. She noted there are other students in her class who are currently learning in other countries such as Vietnam, and the process for them to learn in-person would be extremely difficult as they would have to move to Canada, find a place to live and then quarantine for two weeks.

She said the school indicated it would take a blended approach so that some learning was still online, but once they actually received their schedules, she saw online learning wouldn't be possible.

"Another thing they want us to do to make our schedules work is be at two different locations. So for me personally, I would have to drive from the Notre Dame campus to Roblin within 10 minutes to make my class, which is impossible," said Sigfusson.

Both Sigfusson and Law said they have completed the entire program online and it worked for them. They wish the school provided them with more options to continue online learning, rather than disrupt the routine they have developed since 2020.

"We've been online since September 2020, now we graduate April 2022 … we've all adjusted to the online learning, we have changed our routines, now we are in a good routine. We are very concerned that now they are changing it back to the way before, that it is going to affect our mental health in the exact same way," said Law.

Both students said they have reached out to staff at the school and they have been told their concerns have been passed along, but they are losing hope that anything will change in the coming weeks.

Business Administration students have to register for the winter term by Nov. 25.

In a statement to CTV News, Red River College Polytechnic said it is aware of students sharing their concerns.

"We are connecting with those students who are set to complete their programs this year to work with them to determine the right solutions to ensure they can complete their studies on time, while also working with those who are continuing their studies to support their learning," the statement said.