Winter courses 2021: What you need to know

McMaster announced in September that in order to support health and safety as the pandemic continues the winter 2021 term will be online with only a few exceptions for programs that need student access to specialized equipment or facilities.

The list of courses requiring some time on campus has now been determined and have been updated on Mosaic. The decision was informed by McMaster’s Principles for Academic Decision Making during the COVID-19 pandemic.

More information on the delayed start to classes in January is available in this Daily News story. Changes in other winter term dates, including the new drop and add date of January 19, can be found on the Registrar’s Office website.

Students are encouraged to consult with their academic advising offices for support in making informed choices that aligns with their personal health and circumstances.

• Faculty of Science Academic Advising
• Faculty of Engineering Academic Advising Office
• Faculty of Social Sciences Academic Advising Office
• School of Nursing Academic Advisors
• Faculty of Humanities Academic Advising Office
• DeGroote School of Business Student Experience Office
• Bachelor of Health Sciences Key Contacts

McMaster staff and instructors are working diligently to facilitate safe teaching and learning spaces including:

• Increased cleaning in high-traffic areas, like washrooms and common areas
• Daily cleaning of all in-use classrooms
• Limiting the number of people on campus
• Restricting access to shared spaces like washrooms
• Requiring masks in all public indoor campus spaces
• Providing physical distancing guidelines for all lab and classroom spaces
• Making hand sanitizer available at all building and classroom entrances
• Communicating physical distancing and reduced classroom capacities with clear signage
• Encouraging physical distancing in hallways, stairways and buildings with directional signs
• Requiring COVID-19 Awareness training for all staff and students who need to come to campus

In addition, before coming to campus, students and instructors are required to complete the following steps:

• Complete McMaster’s mandatory online training at least one day before you need to be on campus (this only needs to be done once)
• Everyone (faculty, staff and students) must complete the Province of Ontario’s self-assessment within an hour each time before you arrive on campus
• Information on self-assessment, reporting illness and minimizing expose to COVID-19 are available at the following links:
  • Step-by-step guide for faculty and staff
  • Step-by-step guide for students