St Clair College is preparing to welcome students back to campus this fall.

After a year and a half of mainly virtual learning, both campuses in Chatham and Windsor will be holding in-person instruction this fall.

Some students were on site for labs and workshops for the 2020-21 school year, however President Patti France says the hybrid style of learning wasn’t ideal for students or staff.

“That format certainly wasn’t the preference among either students or the College itself, because the face-to-face interaction between teacher-and-student and student-and-student is truly the ideal version of ‘The St. Clair Experience’” France says. “But the pandemic made remote instruction a necessity, and faculty, staff and students made it a success.  The ingenuity, adaptability and persistence of both teachers and learners allowed us to continue to deliver an excellent postsecondary education throughout the pandemic.”

There will still be online offerings for some courses this fall, but the majority will be taught in-person on campus. Safety protocols will remain in place, including mandatory mask-wearing and social-distancing.

St Clair won’t be mandating COVID vaccinations, but France says they are encouraged for everyone’s safety and well-being.