We are committed to keeping our community healthy and safe during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When in-person classes were suspended on March 15, contingency plans to support the continuation of programs for the remainder of the winter term were put in place immediately.

Transitioning our courses online was an incredible undertaking. Everyone worked hard to help our students successfully complete their programs. This included our instructors and deans, health, safety and wellness staff, Student Services, IT, The Commons and our many other teams. Almost all of our programs were reinstated by March 19.

Our faculty continue to support and enable our students to finish their course work and projects online using D2L (our learning management system), Facebook and other similar platforms.

Our annual Beef Day sale - a core student-managed event for animal science technology students - was successfully held online. Human services students were able to use a virtual daycare simulation program to meet their practicum requirements. Thank you to everyone for rising to this challenge and for continuing to provide a quality educational experience.

Our students were quick to adapt to the challenges of the time. They've shown great resolve under these stressful circumstances. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

While access to our campuses is restricted to help prevent the spread of COVID-19, they do remain open to those students remaining in residence. Our Commons and Residence teams continue to work on-site while practicing physical distancing and other safety measures to provide essential support to these students.

Our Facilities, Farm and Research teams are continuing to care for our buildings, animals, and soon crops as we continue our important summer work.

At this time, all on-campus Lakeland events until the end of August have been cancelled including convocation. This was a difficult decision to make, but the socially responsible one given the times we are in. We are exploring alternatives to celebrate this important milestone in the Class of 2020's academic career. There's no question these graduates will always hold a special place in our college's history.

Based on the information available at this time, we will proceed with a blended offering of firefighting training in late July and begin the next academic year of studies in the fall as we normally would.

Our Lakeland community asked for help with supplies and equipment, and we answered the call.  We loaned the Lloydminster hospital four wheelchairs and 14 hospital beds. We also donated supplies to seniors' homes in Vegreville and Two Hills, and five Vegreville group homes. Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen and to the many volunteers in our Lakeland community.

I am proud of how everyone is supporting one another with empathy and understanding - our Lakeland community never ceases to amaze me.

Thank you and take care of each other.

Dr. Alice Wainwright-Stewart
President and CEO
Lakeland College

Please visit lakelandcollege.ca/covid19 for updates, FAQs, resources and more.