SASKATOON -- After more than a year of online classes, the University of Saskatchewan (U of S) is preparing to welcome students back to campus this fall.
The U of S is calling the fall term “transitional” as some courses will still be taught remotely.
Students can go online to see the status of their classes, with registration opening in June.
Masking will be mandatory on-campus and physical distancing will be enforced.
Huskie Athletics are slated to start back up, student residences will be fully functional and on-campus restaurants can open.
Currently, only some faculty and students are permitted to be at the university.
Jim He, a graduate student researching cannabis at the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition, has been one of the select few on the quiet campus.
“We need to get approval to be in the labs, to get the COVID-19 permit,” He says.
“It will be good to have students back, good for people’s mental health.”
The University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union (USSU) is echoing that message.
USSU President Tasnim Jaisee expects there to be a heightened response to mental health when students return.
“Being at home, not getting that campus experience has been different and its been challenging,” Jaisee says.
“You’re working at your desk for like four hours doing homework, and the only space you have in your room is your bed. So you’re switching from your desk to your bed over and over, and the cycle gets repetitive.”
While classes are scheduled to go in-person in September, the university says campus will likely not fully re-open until the beginning of the winter term in 2022.
