CREDIT: ANGELA MCINNES
Some Fanshawe College students are concerned as to how online classes will affect their program.

With classes cancelled up until March 20, Fanshawe College will be closing its doors to the public on March 18 due to the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

As of writing, Fanshawe hopes to have as many online classes as possible beginning March 23. Some students have concerns over the transition to online learning.

Joel Augustine, a supply chain management student, almost had about a month to complete their program and is feeling concerned.


“Due to this coronavirus my many classes are dismissed, so many assignments are lost, so I don't know how I can pass this course,” Augustine said.

He is also not sure how the online classes will work for his program. Augustine and fellow supply chain management student Feroz Aslami are considering dropping out.

Ashley Rothwell, a graphic design student, said that the students typically rent cameras from the library or draw on tablets only available during class time for some projects. With classes cancelled, the students will not have access to those materials.

“Some of our projects require access to stuff that maybe not everybody has at home and it just has been a little bit difficult,” she said. “I'm kind of stressed because I don't know how the rest of the semester is going to go at this point.”

Abraham Le, computer programmer analyst student, said it’ll be tough to not have the face-to-face interaction with professors when taking the classes online. He added the past week has been “boring” because of the cancellation of classes and continued closure of College services, and is looking forward to Fanshawe re-opening in the future.

“Hopefully, the College going to be open and we can come to the College,” Le said.

For Fares Gubries, a general arts and science student, taking classes online isn’t much of an issue.

 “In high school, I had online classes, so it wasn't hard, so it's like the same situation," he said.

The Fanshawe Student Union (FSU) will close The Biz Booth, The Gamesroom, and The Out Back Shack as of March 18. Oasis will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. for take out only. Kettles and Ah-So Sushi and Booster Juice closed on March 17.

Only College staff considered essential will be allowed on campus from March 18 on.

Visit fsu.ca/covid19 for any FSU-related updates and fanshawec.ca/covid-19 to find out how your academics and other college services will be affected.