Classes have just started at the University of Regina, but the school says remote learning at the campus will continue into the winter semester which begins January 11.

In a release on Thursday morning, the University says it is making this decision based on current information and to keep students, faculty and staff safe which is their top priority.

Saying this approach offers students the best chance of academic success as we continue to navigate through the global pandemic, courses will be primarily delivered remotely with the exception of some low density face-to-face classes, labs, studios and clinical placements with its “Academic Incremental Recovery Group” determining what can be delivered in person with the proper safety protocols in place.

U of R President Thomas Chase says they’re waiting for the flue season coming up this fall to see what it will do to Saskatchewan’s COVID-19 case count.

“Right now, the number of infections in the province is very low, and whole whole of the provincial community is just doing a fantastic job keeping those numbers down,” Chase said. “What we need to focus on now is what happens in mid-to-late October and into November when the flu season arrives and what the impact of that season will be.”

However, Chase says they’re keeping the option to return to in-person classes open.

“If we get a serious bout of infection spread in Saskatchewan, we’ll be in a different space,” Chase said. “If we don’t, and we look over the landscape and say ‘hey, things are going pretty well, we think the risk is mitigated to an acceptable level,’ we can then go back and revisit some of our planning.”

Some smaller lab or studio classes are being offered in-person at the U of R, while the vast majority remain online.

Chase says online classes have broken barriers for some students who wouldn’t be able to come to Regina for classes.