Message from Lakeland College’s President

A MESSAGE FROM LAKELAND COLLEGE’S President

Lakeland College is preparing to welcome students back to campus for the fall 2021 semester. Our goal is to have our campus community at our Vermilion and Lloydminster campuses this fall if it is safe to do so. With guidance from provincial health authorities and the Ministry of Advanced Education, we will ensure any required health and safety protocols are in place so that our students can fully benefit from the most hands-on education in Canada.

On behalf of Lakeland, I thank everyone for doing their part to keep our campus community safe this year. We were successful in providing a blended program delivery that allowed more than 90 per cent of our students to engage in in-person learning activities. Approximately 60 per cent of our total course hours were delivered on campus and in person. In March, we welcomed a full cohort of students in our emergency services technology program to our Emergency Training Centre at the Vermilion campus. Firefighting students arrived on campus in mid-April. Students in these programs will complete their hands-on training on site thanks to the COVID-19 protocols we have in place. Despite everyone’s best efforts though, in early April Alberta Health Services (AHS) declared an outbreak at the Vermilion campus. Their investigation shared there was evidence that these cases spread as a result of isolated off-campus social gatherings. We worked with AHS to provide voluntary on-site testing. Alberta health inspectors visited our campus to review our protocols and procedures and found them to be more than sufficient for on-campus learning. To prevent the risk of transmission though, classes were moved online for several programs. We increased cleaning and disinfecting in our residences, and closed common areas on campus. We provided assistance to students who had to isolate on campus as well. Just as we had all year, we took every measure we could to protect the health and safety of our campus community. We’re grateful for the support of AHS as we worked with them to monitor and respond to the situation. As of April 30, there is one active case on campus. Throughout the year, our work to ensure on-campus labs, lectures and activities received positive reviews from our students. In a survey I conducted earlier this year, 89 per cent of students shared that they were satisfied with their program. Overwhelming, 96 per cent of students responded that they would recommend Lakeland to others, while 100 per cent of our apprentices shared they would as well.

Lakeland is one of only two colleges in Alberta this year to offer full-time, face-to-face trades training for apprenticeship and pre-employment students. I’m very proud of our Lakeland team for the work they’ve done this year to ensure our students continue to benefit from a quality education. And I am proud of our students – they are resilient and focussed on their goals. Together, we’ll continue to provide the best educational and campus experience possible this fall. We’ll continue to share updates as they become available at lakelandcollege.ca/covid19. Thank you,

Dr. Alice Wainwright-Stewart

President and CEO Lakeland College