University of Ottawa president Jacques Frémont responded today to a joint letter from 18 U of O recognized student governments calling to lower or waive tuition fees for the 2020 spring/summer term. The response states ‘‘the University will not be lowering or waiving tuition fees for the spring/summer 2020 semester.’’
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced on Wednesday morning that applications will open on Friday at 6 a.m. for the Canadian Emergency Student Benefit. Students who are eligible for the CESB will be able to apply through the CRA website and receive $1,250 every four weeks from May to August.
The University of Ottawa has announced that it will offer courses online in the fall for international and Canadian students who are unable to make it to campus in the fall. There will be, however, some exceptions for courses that require students to be physically present in class to complete the course’s academic requirements.
A group of Ontario university students from Ottawa has created an initiative called Frontline First to help deliver personal protective equipment to frontline workers at multiple Ottawa hospitals. As of Sunday, Frontline First has raised $5,450, a little over halfway to its goal of $10,000, and is asking the U of O community’s help to reach its goal.
The University of Ottawa has decided to ban all international university-related travel for the rest of 2020 cancelling all exchange student programs for the fall semester. Students who were set to participate in exchanges in the fall will be offered a number of different alternative options.
The University of Ottawa Students’ Union announced they will be collecting ancillary fees for the 2020 spring/summer semester. A portion of the fees will be used to create a hardship fund for students affected financially by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Work on 10 maintenance projects at the University of Ottawa is set to resume next week. This follows Friday’s announcement from the Government of Ontario that essential construction and maintenance projects on the province’s post-secondary campuses will be permitted to resume their activities starting Monday
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced $9 billion in financial support for post-secondary students and recent graduates on Wednesday after thousands across the country said gaps in existing COVID-19 emergency measures meant they were slipping through the cracks.
The University of Ottawa Heart Institute is among the 19 hospitals, long-term care and retirement homes across the city that are reporting outbreaks of COVID-19, according to Ottawa Public Health. As of Monday, two patients at the heart institute had tested positive for the virus and one patient had died.
Students taking classes at the U of O during the upcoming online spring/summer semesters will be met with a number of changes to fees and services due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The U-Pass is suspended for the term, while fees for Sports Services and the University Centre are waived.
