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.’

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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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