Canadian Post-Secondary Institutions Introduce New COVID-19 Policies for Students to Be on Campus

Canadian post-secondary institutions have decided to impose new COVID-19 vaccination policies for students returning to campuses, while policies depend on the institution.

Many universities have announced policies only recently, some of which include verified proof of vaccination, or even campus-wide rapid testing, excluding those who are already fully vaccinated, Erudera.com reports.

The President of the University of Winnipeg Students’ Association, Kirt Hayer, told CBC News that the university opened a large center where students could bring their university identification cards and proof of vaccination.

After verifying the documents, a green sticker was put on their ID cards which made students eligible to enter campus. Meanwhile, partially vaccinated students or those who did not manage to show the proof of full vaccination received orange stickers, hence, they have been allowed to enter campus only until October 15.

“To access campus, you show a security guard your sticker and they let you in if you have a sticker. And if you don’t have a sticker, then they deny you access to campus,” Hayer said.

The university stated that after October 15, only students who get green stickers will be permitted to enter campus, while those unvaccinated due to medical exemptions will be required to fill out a special application.

According to Hayer, this system helps to make campuses safer for people who return. He added that 40 percent of classes are currently being held face-to-face.

Seneca College in Toronto has also asked students to be vaccinated, otherwise they will not be allowed to enter campus. Students and staff have been required to prove they are vaccinated by uploading the immunization certificate to an application that is linked to a university’s existing system, which includes student and staff IDs.

Once they upload the proof of vaccination to the app and receive the confirmation from the college team, they can use it for the health screening every day before entering campus. Students can scan at one of the kiosks located at some of the campus entrances.

“We have student ambassadors all over at our entrances for support,” he said. The system has experienced few glitches. It’s quick, easy. This is my second week on campus and a lot of students are getting adjusted to the new routine,” Seneca student mentor, Aidan D’Souza also told CBC News.

The University of Toronto has also asked the entire university community to be vaccinated by uploading the proof of vaccination and completing health screening in university’s online system-UCheck, in order to be permitted to enter campus.