College students in Ontario head back to class after five-week faculty strike

Ontario : Students are heading back to the classroom this morning after a five-week faculty strike at 24 Ontario colleges.
Teachers returned to schools on Monday in preparation for the resumption of classes after back-to-work legislation was passed over the weekend.
The lengthy strike has prompted colleges to extend the fall semester this year, a move which Jen McMillen, the Dean of Students at Humber College, said will make course work more manageable for students.

Certainly there is anxiety and students are concerned about what the rest of their semester and academic year is going to look like,” McMillen told CP24 Tuesday morning.
“We certainly hope that students will come back, will have a chance to meet with their faculty, will see what the plan is. At Humber we’ve decided to spread the time out over the course of the full academic year, so instead of two 14 or 15-week terms, we are going to have two 13-week terms.”
Approximately 500,000 students were impacted after 12,000 faculty members walked off the job on Oct. 15.
The provincial government previously directed colleges to create a fund for students with the money saved from the strike and on Monday, the province said that students who want to withdraw from school can apply for a full tuition refund.
Students will have two weeks to decide whether they want to continue on with the semester.
“We understand some students may have life circumstances where that is not possible (to continue on), however, we do feel the majority are going to come back, meet with the faculty, get the support they need outside the classroom, and start to understand that we really do think they can do this,” McMillen said.
Those who choose to stay in their programs can apply to receive up to $500 for unexpected costs incurred during the strike.
Meanwhile, the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU), which represents striking staff, and the College Employer Council, which represents Ontario’s 24 colleges, will now be referred to binding mediation-arbitration to hammer out the details of a new contract.