news // no. 4

President Denton posts fall
semester outlook

> ‘It will certainly not be a return to ‘normal’ — that simply isn’t an option yet.’

DOUGLASCOLLEGE

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Photo by Billy Bui

Atiba Nelson
Staff Reporter

 

A: the British Columbia government
eases restrictions and schools return
ona part-time and voluntarily basis—
Douglas College President Kathy Denton
posted a message about the upcoming fall
2020 semester.

“Tm writing to let you know that we
are working on our plans right now, but
much is still to be decided,” she states.

The letter reinforced Douglas’
commitment to student and staff health
and stated that the college is awaiting
Ministry of Education and Ministry of
Health guidance to safely return to in-
person instruction.

President Denton also revealed that
most of the Douglas College courses
offerings will be online; however, stated
that the college would be finalizing this
point in the upcoming weeks. There
were assurances from the president that
students would know the method of
instruction of a prospective course by the
registration period.

“In regard to services for students, we
will do our best to have in-person options
available there as well. As good as our
online services are, we know that seeing

Dorms at Douglas in June 2024

» College to become your potential landlord

Atiba Nelson
Staff Reporter

 

ver dreamed of taking the elevator
down to the cafeteria, then walking
to your morning class while in your
pajamas—having just rolled out of bed?
Your dreams may become a reality sooner
than you think.

Douglas College via the British
Columbia Bid website, posted a document
entitled “Request for Proposals for Prime
Consulting Services.” The request asks
prospective bidders to submit a proposal
for the “provision of Prime Consultant
Services for the design, construction, and
occupancy of a new campus academic
building with an integrated student
housing building.”

The college is aiming to have
presentations and interviews with
prospective applicants in mid-June and
award the contract for the planning,
development, and construction of the new
Douglas College building by June 19.

The student housing building is slated
to be built at 808 Royal Avenue. The site is
described as the land that is bordered by
Royal Avenue, 8th Street, Agnes Street, and
Blackie Street. Currently, this site is used
for surface parking across the street from
Douglas’ New Westminster campus.

According to the proposal, Douglas
envisions the building being multiuse. The
college’s desire is for the newly constructed
tower to hold a mix of classrooms,

computer and simulation labs, facility
offices, study spaces, a student lounge
area that could accommodate roughly 160
students, plus a dining venue to provide
food services to the occupants.

The housing
building—which should
have wonderful views
of downtown New
Westminster and the
Fraser River—will be
linked to the academic
building and provide the
college with 350 beds,
which will either be
single occupancy units
or a mix of housing
units.

Plans for student-
only housing at the
Douglas College
New Westminster
campus have been in
consideration for two
years. The cost to the
college is estimated
to be $n0.7 million
dollars—according toa
cost estimate generated
by LEC Group Quantity
Surveyors in June 2019.

There is also
a plan to increase
parking at the New
Westminster campus
and the building will

feature student and facility stalls, as per
New Westminster by-laws, underneath the
structure.

Douglas’ student housing building at
the New Westminster campus is scheduled

theotherpress.ca

a friendly face in person can sometimes
make a big difference,” read the Denton
statement.

The Other Press reached out to
Douglas College to ask whether students
will be able to use the campus libraries
and campus recreation services and
received a reply through the Marketing and
Communications office via email.

“We would like to provide as many
in-person service opportunities as is safely
possible,” said Regan Lal, the Associate
Director for Communications at Douglas
College.

Several Canadian universities have
scheduled classes to be remotely offered
in the fall semester, and with the switch to
online class offerings students—through
the Canadian Federation of Students—
have been advocating for a decrease in
tuition costs.

“In recognition of the fact that classes
will mostly be taking place online, which
is not optimal for certain disciplines,
students are asking institutions to offer
reduced tuition rates,” wrote Sofia Descalzi,
national chairperson of the federation.

According to Lal, Douglas College
does not plan to decrease tuition nor fees
due to remote or online class offerings.
Class sizes will remain the same.

to be occupied in 2024, according toa
project schedule timeline.

Currently there are no plans for the
college to erect student housing at the
Douglas’ Coquitlam campus.

 

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