I recognize that these are unusual processes and protocols for a campus-based university like ours. But your health and safety is our priority, and these are extraordinary times. At this time of economic restart, it can be difficult to remember that we are still operating in the context of a public health emergency. In the meantime, I thank you for your cooperation and your collective commitment to the safety and wellness of the KPU community. I am very proud of all we have accomplished together in our collective response to this global pandemic, and I thank you for your continued dedication to our mission. Even though we are apart, we are still thinking and acting together to transform lives and empower positive change.

We are NOT allowing any in-person meetings or events of any size on campus. All Outlook room bookings have been disabled and no meeting requests are being accepted through the Facilities Services room booking portal. To remain safe, we will have to keep meeting virtually for now.

Be respectful of others in narrow hallways, and when you are unable to stay physically distanced, please wear a mask. We will allow each employee a one-time expense of up to $25 to purchase masks. To take advantage of this opportunity, you must submit an expense claim, complete with receipts.

If you are not feeling well, please stay at home until such time that your symptoms cease. If your symptoms are similar to that of COVID-19 (cold or flu like respiratory symptoms) please refer to the BC Health website and complete the self-assessment or call 8-1-1 for further guidance. When you visit campus, please remember to stay at least two metres apart from others, and be mindful of good hand and cough hygiene.

There are only three types of return-to-campus activity at this time:

At this time, we are focused on the return to campus of faculty and students in a very limited number of classes that require in-person instruction in labs, studios and workshops. This approach has been piloted in recent weeks at KPU Tech, and safety plans have been developed to ensure very limited face-to-face learning activities can continue into the fall 2020 semester. In addition, our Facilities Services department is developing safety plans for the movement of employees and students in our buildings and on campus grounds.

We must remain vigilant in our efforts to limit the spread of the COVID-19 virus. This includes carefully managing the number of people on each of our campuses at any given time. This will allow us to undertake the appropriate cleaning measures, limit the traffic in common areas, including narrow hallways, and will ensure that our ability to remain physically distanced in all university spaces is not compromised. It will also allow us to assist public health officials should contact tracing be required if someone who was on campus tests positive for COVID-19.

Further to the university's Academic and Operational Continuity Plan , we are now approaching the shift to Stage 2. This stage will allow a gradual and tightly managed return to campus for a very limited number of students and employees. However, for the foreseeable future, most employees will continue to work from home and the majority of students will continue to learn remotely.

However, as we continue to focus first and foremost on the safety and well-being of our students and our employees, and we ensure compliance with Provincial Health Office orders and WorkSafe BC regulations, KPU must continue to move slowly and cautiously. This means tightly controlling the processes by which we allow students and employees to return to campus, even for short visits.

As B.C. moves forward with its Restart Plan to allow a gradual re-opening of various economic sectors across the province, we are aware that there is heightened interest from employees who would like to return to campus.

May 14

COVID-19 update for the fall semester To KPU students and employees, As our summer semester officially gets underway this week, with classes being delivered remotely and most of our employees continuing to work remotely, I know that many of you have already turned your attention to the fall. As I mentioned to you in my last update about our COVID-19 response, we have been reviewing potential scenarios for the fall semester. This planning has unfolded within a context that is continually evolving. However, what remains constant is our primary focus on the health and well-being of our students and our employees. Your safety is our top priority, and our planning reflects that. As we develop our fall semester plan, we continue to follow the direction of the Provincial Health Officer, and to work closely with the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training and our colleagues across the sector. We are mindful of British Columbia's Restart Plan, which is defined as a “careful, step-by-step process to ensure all of our combined efforts and sacrifices are not squandered” as the government plans to begin slowly re-opening segments of the economy. As Premier John Horgan said when he announced the Restart Plan, it will not be “a flip of a switch.” Neither will KPU's approach to the fall semester be a sudden shift from our pandemic response, which began in mid-March. While we have collectively made progress in terms of flattening the transmission curve of COVID-19 in B.C., we still need to adhere to physical distancing measures that require us to stay two metres apart. We also anticipate that the restriction on gatherings larger than 50 people will remain in place for the foreseeable future. Therefore, with your safety top of mind, we will continue with remote asynchronous delivery of the majority of classes for Fall 2020. We will offer very limited on-campus learning opportunities, focused on those courses that require the use of labs, shops, studios, etc., and where the number of students on campus at any given time can be tightly managed. A rationale, a detailed delivery plan and a Health and Safety assessment must be approved by the Provost prior to any students returning to campus. As well, we will comply with WorkSafe BC Level 2 safety guidelines and public health orders to ensure a safe work environment for all our employees. You can see the Academic and Operational Continuity Plan on our COVID-19 response webpage. As we continue to navigate the challenges of this pandemic, we must continue to offer a quality educational experience for our learners regardless of the learning delivery model, and I want to acknowledge the diligence and continued hard work of our faculty and our colleagues in the Teaching and Learning Commons. Thank you for all you have done, and all you will yet achieve as we continue our remote teaching and learning approach for the fall semester. I want to recognize our students, and your ongoing commitment to your studies. We would all like to be back on campus and in our classrooms, but it is not yet the time to contemplate a full-scale return. We must remain vigilant and nimble as the provincial Restart Plan unfolds, and adopt a similarly cautious approach. Thank you all for doing your part to help reduce the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Please remain diligent about physical distancing and hand and cough hygiene. Most importantly: please stay home if you feel unwell. This is critical for all of us and we continue our efforts to flatten the curve. Thank you as well for your resilience over the last few months. We are facing this unprecedented challenge together, and I want each of you to know how much we appreciate your diligence and your perseverance. Sincerely,

Alan Davis, PhD

President and Vice Chancellor

April 17

April 17, 2020 Dear colleagues, It was just over one month ago that the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. I don't need to remind you how dramatically our world has changed in the weeks since that declaration. All of you are living that change daily, both personally and professionally. Despite the swirl of emotion and anxiety created by COVID-19, you have remained focused and calm, and because of your dedication, KPU continues to serve our learners and our communities. This is a credit to your commitment to our students as well as to our mission. It is amazing what we have achieved, and I know it has taken a great deal of perseverance and commitment to make it happen. Thank you everyone. I would like to take a moment to acknowledge that many of you are now juggling your work-at-home arrangements with taking care of your children, including supporting school-aged children as they too transition to remote learning. We understand how challenging it can be to manage your day when faced with the competing priorities of work, child care and home-schooling. As an employer, we want to be as supportive and flexible as possible, and we have encouraged all our managers to ensure that they are offering creative solutions for the circumstances that many of you are facing. We also know that some of you are struggling with the reality of having to remain distant from loved ones, especially our elders. We are social creatures and isolation can be very difficult. Our Human Resources team has put together an impressive package of tips and tools to assist you as you navigate these extraordinary times. Please visit the SharePoint Wellness site for details. In addition, please take advantage of the support offered by our Employee and Family Assistance Program. You are not alone; help is just a phone call away. The ever-evolving circumstances around COVID-19 continue to challenge us in many ways, but they have also offered us unique opportunities. We have discovered new ways of working together even while working remotely: problem-solving, collaborating and supporting each other as we encounter hurdles and obstacles. I hope you are also taking time to celebrate your achievements; even small wins count for a great deal at times like this. The health and safety of our students and employees are paramount at this time, and we continue to follow the directives of local, provincial and national public health agencies. We have settled into a “new normal,” and we don't anticipate significant change any time soon. That is why we decided to deliver all our summer programs remotely. And it is why we are now undertaking scenario planning for the fall semester. We will keep you updated as we progress through this planning. We need your continued courage and commitment. We must draw strength from each other as we meet the challenges posed by this global pandemic though summer and into fall. We need this more than ever. All indications at this point are that the need for continued physical distancing will be required for the foreseeable future. If you are feeling distress or anxiety at the thought of this, I urge you to take some time to remove yourself the noise all around you – be it sensational tweets, emotionally triggering media headlines, or the intense, sometimes conflicting, emotions in our own minds. It is important now to keep focused on what we CAN do to lessen the severity of this pandemic in our own communities – stay at home as much as possible, maintain physical distancing when you do need to go out, and remain committed to hand and respiratory hygiene. Only by keeping vigilant – and by keeping each other strong -- can we reduce the length of time our communities are impacted by COVID-19. I would like to close by sharing two things with you: A story about a group of KPU instructors and student who have produced “ear savers” for health-care workers.

And a bit of musical inspiration that was co-written by our former Provost Sal Ferreras and is performed by the incredible Dee Daniels. I hope they help lift your spirits a bit as you head into the weekend. Sincerely,

Alan Davis, PhD

President and Vice Chancellor

March 30

March 30, 2020 Dear colleagues and students, As we look back on the last few weeks and ahead to our summer term, I want to thank each and every one of you for your dedication and your resilience as all of us in higher education play our role in sustaining our communities during this pandemic. As we do this, we are adapting and improvising constantly, and these demands on us are both collective and individual. Individually, many of you have been drawn to priorities close to home: your family, your friends, your neighbours and yourselves. As we strive to keep our university operating, you are also focused on the health, safety and well-being of your loved ones. As an employer we have taken action to support you in your personal lives. Most of you are now working from home. Some of you continue to report for essential duties on campus, but your interactions with others are very limited. Together we are doing all we can to enable social and physical distancing that keeps you, your loved ones and our community safe by helping control transmission of the COVID-19 virus. KPU remains committed to fulfilling its mission as a public post-secondary institution. It was on March 16 that we called for a pause on in-person instruction since it was clear that the need to create physical distance between us was vital to controlling the spread of the COVID-19 virus. In just two days, with the support and hard work of our faculty, our deans' offices and our colleagues in the Teaching and Learning Commons, we moved wherever possible to remote learning using online, digital tools. This was not a simple task, and I want to acknowledge the hard work of everyone who made it happen. To our students: We recognize that these changes have been significant for you. We appreciate your resilience as you figured out how to connect with your instructors and your classmates remotely. We are determined to support you to complete this semester in a way we could not anticipate. It is at times like this that the KPU community rallies together. I was delighted last week to see the leadership of the Kwantlen Student Association as it stepped up to make $100,000 available for emergency funding for students impacted by the pandemic, and I was pleased that KPU was able to match those funds. Together, we have made $200,000 available to students. These changes have not been easy for many of you. Everyone is working tirelessly to develop solutions for scenarios that until now, had not even been anticipated. It is complicated, yet we remain united in our determination to reach our collective goals. I am very proud of our shared response to this global pandemic. Our goal is to meet students' needs as they complete the spring semester in good standing while ensuring the health and wellness of our employees. Our next step is to move forward with a summer semester that will not include in-person classes and on-campus work or activities. Again, I want to express my heartfelt thanks to everyone who is committed to make this happen. In the meantime, I urge you to: Heed the advice of our public health officials. Wash your hands frequently; stay home if you are unwell or caring for someone who is; and maintain two metres of physical distance when you are out in the community.

Limit your time out in the community. Our provincial and federal health officials say this week will be critical in terms of understanding if the measures currently in place have sufficiently stemmed the spread of the virus. We must continue to limit our interactions with others. Social and physical distancing is not easy, but we can explore virtual opportunities to connect.

Arm yourself with knowledge from credible sources. You can find our suggestions and updates on this page. Thank you for all you have done so far. I know I can count on your collegiality, tenacity, creativity and resourceful in the weeks to come. Sincerely,

Alan Davis, PhD

President and Vice Chancellor

March 24

Summer 2020 Semester at KPU – alternative delivery of classes only March 24, 2020 Time 10:45am As KPU continues to respond to recommendations from British Columbia's Provincial Health Officer regarding the measures required to help slow the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, KPU will deliver all its Summer 2020 classes remotely. There will be no in-person classes for the summer term. This decision has been made to align with the recommendation from health officials that we stay physically distant at this time, which means staying two metres apart from one another. Eliminating the need for in-person instruction for the entire semester is one of the ways that KPU is supporting this directive. KPU will be providing as much support as it is able to students, both domestic and international, who wish to study remotely, using a variety of digital tools and strategies. KPU will also support its faculty as instructors prepare for various modes of alternative delivery. However, students registering for the Summer semester will need to have a device and access to the internet or WIFI to ensure they will be able to meet the requirements for instructional delivery. We will soon be releasing the list of courses that can be effectively delivered without any attendance on campus. Registration will be limited to these courses only. We understand that this may be disappointing for some, but these are the types of measures needed at this critical time in reducing the spread of the virus. Likewise, we are working to determine what supports we will be able to provide to students online, by telephone and to a very limited extent on campus, subject to the direction of B.C.'s Public Health Officer. Summer semester classes start on May 11, and those who have already registered for courses will be notified regarding any changes to current selections as soon as summer online offerings have been confirmed. A series of announcements will be forthcoming that will confirm: the courses that will be available this Summer semester

Student Services that will be available online, by telephone or on campus

the Bookstore and Library services that will be available to students

what Trades training can be provided at KPU Tech in Cloverdale

the minimal staffing that KPU will need to keep its facilities safe and secure. Current and prospective students will be able to get more information soon from the KPU website: https://www.kpu.ca/registration.

Further information for International students can be found here: https://www.kpu.ca/international. KPU employees will receive direction and advice from their supervisors. Thank you for your continued support and understanding in these extraordinary times. Sincerely,

Alan Davis, PhD

President and Vice Chancellor

March 20

March 20, 2020 Time 4:30pm The COVID-19 pandemic has touched pretty much every facet of our lives, and the situation is constantly changing. At KPU, we have taken significant steps to help ensure the health and wellness of our employees and students in accordance with the recommendations of the Provincial Health Officer, our provincial and federal governments, and our ministry. Chief among these is the very strong message that social distancing is vital to helping control the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Public health experts recommend that we stay two metres apart. Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's Provincial Health Officer, puts it this way: “We know that social distancing is an important line of defense for all us – staying a fingertip-to-fingertip distance away from each other, but no touching.” Accordingly, we have moved away from in-person instruction, created opportunities for remote working arrangements and have focused on ensuring that students and employees who do come to campus can adhere to this social distancing recommendation. An important update about final exams:

There will be no in-person final exams.

Instructors have been asked to develop alternatives and these will be communicated soon. KPU is working to increase access to computer work stations at KPU Surrey. This will be done in accordance with the requirement for social distancing. We will provide updates on this next week. I want to thank everyone – students and employees – for the incredible resilience and adaptability you have shown over the last few weeks. This is an issue we must tackle together: at KPU, in our communities and beyond. We will do our very best to support you. Please see the information below for some important updates, details of which can be found on the right. As well, here is a great story about how KPU is helping the broader COVID-19 response. Sincerely,

Alan UPDATE – LIBRARY SERVICES Hours have been reduced, capacity restrictions implemented and public services suspended. UPDATE – LEARNING CENTRES All tutoring and Learning Strategist appointments are now online. UPDATE – ASSESSMENT AND TESTING Assessment and Testing Services (ATS) has discontinued exam services at this time. UPDATE – EVENTS ON CAMPUS KPU has cancelled all on-campus events regardless of the number of participants from today until the end of June. This applies to events in all areas of KPU such as conference centres, classrooms, public spaces and parking lots. Unfortunately, we are unable at this time to provide the resources needed to ensure we comply with mitigation measures required to ensure appropriate social distancing. We will monitor the Provincial Health Officer's orders on public gathering and will extend the cancellation as required.

March 16



March 16, 2020 Time 8:26am Effective March 17 and 18, KPU to pause in-person instruction except in the Faculty of Trades and Technology, and Horticulture Levels 1 and 4; all campuses to remain open. To the KPU community, I am writing to update you on KPU's next steps in its response to the evolving COVID-19 situation. I appreciate the heightened concerns at this time, and I would like to thank you for your patience and understanding as we address the complexities inherent in ensuring that students can continue their studies and complete this semester in these unprecedented times. As we continue to address the COVID-19 situation, we are ensuring alignment with the guidance of the Provincial Health Officer and are working closely with the Ministry of Advanced Education, Skills and Training. Our COVID-19 Action Team, along with Dr. David Florkowski – seconded from his role as Dean of KPU's Faculty of Health to serve as Special Advisor to the President on COVID-19 – has already undertaken a number of steps to help ensure the safety and well-being of our students and employees. Dr. Florkowski and KPU Provost Dr. Sandy Vanderburgh have been working with our deans and our Acting Vice Provost, Teaching and Learning to develop a plan to transition from face-to-face instruction for the remainder of the semester. Today I am announcing that KPU will pause all in-person instruction on March 17 and 18 to allow our deans and faculty to focus on the details of that transition. Exceptions to this pause include all classes at KPU's Faculty of Trades and Technology, as well as Horticulture Level 1 and Level 4.

Due to the technical and hands-on nature of these programs, in-person instruction will continue, but proper social distancing measures will be in effect in the classrooms, shops and labs. All work-integrated learning, including clinical placements, practicums and co-op placements will continue at the discretion of the employers.



As mentioned in previous communications, KPU has already undertaken increased cleaning measures at all campuses, including the provision of more hand-cleaning stations. All KPU campuses will remain open and students will have access to our libraries and all university services. Employees will report to work as usual, with the exceptions already noted in previous communication regarding those who feel ill, are caring for a family member who is ill or who are self-isolating following a return from travel outside of Canada. Instructors are asked to reach out to their students by email to ensure they are aware of this pause and to give them any information they might require over the two days of pause. Alternative forms of instructional delivery will be communicated on March 19. Students will be contacted directly by their instructors with details. These will remain in effect until the end of the semester. Plans regarding the writing of exams will be communicated to all students by March 20. All KPU campuses will remain open with usual operating hours while we undertake this transition and for the duration of the semester unless otherwise communicated. I would like to reiterate that the Provincial Health Officer continues to assure British Columbians that risk of transmission in B.C. remains low for the general population. Thank you to the entire KPU community as we work together to adapt in the face of this evolving situation. Please refer to our COVID-19 webpage for further information regarding KPU's response to date. Sincerely,

Alan Davis, PhD

President and Vice Chancellor

March 12