Fanshawe College student Bethany Baglieri put her life on hold to go back to school, only to have her education put on hold by a sweeping faculty strike that’s cast her and a half-million other students out of class.

“It has not been easy for me to take time away from my family to get an education,” said the second-year nursing student in a Facebook message Tuesday.

“I am 27 years old. I am also a mother to an amazing six-year-old boy. He constantly boasts about how his mommy is going to be a nurse.”

But after missing 18 straight days of class, and hours of important practical work, Baglieri is unsure when that day is going to come.

“I was hoping to graduate in 2018 and start my life,” she said.

“I have put my blood, sweat and tears into my education, and I have been sitting by for four weeks waiting for this strike to end.”

Five days after they returned to talks, hope for a settlement between the College Employer Council and the union that represents the province’s 12,000 striking workers was dashed when the colleges forced a vote on its final offer with rank-and-file Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) members.

The two-day Ontario Labour Relations Board vote, criticized by the union as needlessly prolonging the job action, will be held by electronic ballot on Nov. 14 starting at 9 a.m. – the fifth week of the strike.

But as OPSEU faculty gear up for a vote, college administrators are scrambling to form contingency plans to get students back on track when the strike is done.

In the meantime, students are left with more questions than answers.

“I am angry,” said Baglieri, “and I’m sure the rest of the 500,000-plus students who have been waiting for this strike to end are too.”

We asked...

With the strike showing no end in sight, what can students do?

Fanshawe president Peter Devlin is urging students to keep up with their assignments, work ahead if they can and stay connected to their classmates.

“The library is open, the labs are open, the recreational facilities are open. Students have access to FanshaweOnline,” he said Tuesday.

“We also have peer tutoring, study groups and the learning centre open and available for our students.”

Students can also take to the streets, said Baglieri, who’s organizing a rally Friday at the Oxford Street campus.

Baglieri and her classmate Michelle Wright are planning to gather at the Cheapside Street entrance and walk around the campus Friday at 1 p.m. Since they started the Facebook group Tuesday evening, they’ve attracted more than 250 members and are expecting as many to show up at the demonstration.

“We, as students, have the right to the quality education we paid for and we’re not receiving it,” said Wright, who, after missing three full weeks of class, is done being patient.

“I’m stressed and upset about this . . . I feel like my education, and my future as a nurse, is at stake and it’s not even my fault,” she said.

What options are Southwestern Ontario colleges mulling?

Fanshawe, St. Clair and Lambton colleges are all extending their fall term until Dec. 22, though the schools all recognize they can’t finalize their exact plans until the strike ends.

A statement emailed to Fanshawe students Wednesday said extending the term into January is “likely,” depending on how long the job action lasts.

After talks broke off Monday, Windsor’s St. Clair College announced it will recover three weeks of class time by extending the fall semester from Dec. 8 to Dec. 22 and resuming it after Christmas break beginning Jan. 2.

The college, which also has a satellite campus in Chatham, will be open Dec. 27 to 30 so students can access the library, tutoring and computer labs.

But one longtime political scientist said there’s other options colleges or the Ministry of Advanced Education and Skills Development could pursue.

When University of Toronto teaching assistants went on strike in 2015, some courses were adjusted so students would receive a pass or fail grade instead of a percentage.

“Students were given the option whether they wanted to write the exam or not. I’d say three-quarters of my students didn’t. They were prepared to take a pass or fail,” said Nelson Wiseman, political science professor at the University of Toronto.

“The students missed out on having their tutorials and seminars, but the year ended on time.”

With students out of class almost as long as they’ve been in class, is there a chance they’ll have to restart the work they’ve done so far?

Though the job action is now in its fourth week, Devlin said the college is working on plans to make sure students don’t lose the term.

“We’ve prepared a flexible semester completion plan with the view of having all our students complete the academic year,” said Devlin, who is hopeful both sides will reach an agreement soon.

“I’m going to wait until the strike comes to an end and then we’re going to deal with all of our programs and all of our students . . . Our plan will be respectful and will allow students to complete the academic year.”

In the three previous college faculty strikes – 1984, 1989 and 2006 – students were able to complete their term.

What about refunds?

There’s no clear answer. In a list of questions and answers designed for students, Fanshawe said the decision to refund tuition and re-evaluate student loan payments lies with the ministry.

Lambton College in Sarnia said the concept of a rebate presumes students won’t complete their academic year, not its goal.

In the meantime, a change.org online petition urging a tuition reimbursement for Ontario’s strike-weary college students has gained more than 128,000 signatures.

Is back-to-work legislation a possibility?

“I think if we don’t get a settlement within the next couple of weeks, we’ll probably get it, back-to-work legislation,” said Wiseman.

Based on what happened in the past with other post-secondary strikes, including one at York University in 2009, Wiseman said the province is likely to hold off on direct action until the job action has reached the six- to eight-week mark.

“I noticed the premier raised the prospect the other day . . . If it goes too long, the government is going to legislate.”

- with files from the Windsor Star

jbieman@postmedia.com

Timeline:

Oct. 16 – 12,000 faculty hit the picket line at 12:01 a.m. after negotiations with College Employer Council stall

Oct. 20 – Student leaders pen open letter to province urging it to step in to end the strike

Oct. 26 – Striking Fanshawe faculty host rally at Victoria Park in London

Nov. 1 – Students rally at Queen’s Park, Fanshawe College announces it’s extending its term until Dec. 22

Nov. 2 – Both sides return to the bargaining table, OPSEU hosts Queen’s Park rally

Nov. 6 – Talks break down, colleges approach Ontario Labour Relations Board to bring final offer to a vote with OPSEU rank-and-file members

Nov. 7 – Ontario Labour Relations Board sets a date for final offer vote

Nov. 10 – Planned rally by Fanshawe students at Oxford Street campus

Nov. 14 to 16 – Final offer vote completed by electronic ballot