After months of uncertainty, students at Briercrest College and Seminary now have confirmation that they will be able to return to the campus this fall.

With a re-opening plan developed with the Saskatchewan Health Authority, the college will operate at 50 per cent capacity and students will be sorted into social cohorts of thirty, allowing for social distancing and easier contact tracing. Due to its spacious facilities and rural location, the college has the ability to avoid the kind of dense crowding in which COVID-19 thrives.

AJ Crocker, the vice president of marketing and recruitment at Briercrest, explains why the on-campus experience is so important for their students.

"While we are able to do online programs, lots of the education and extra valued provided by a faith-based organization like Briercrest is dependant on discipleship and in-person relationships."

Crocker also notes that an in-person education can help combat the feelings of isolation and depression that so many college-aged Canadians now face.

Life is going to look different for students with daily health assessments and regular non-contact temperature readings. For the time being, no sporting events or musical performances can take place until at least January although teams will be able to practice. In addition, the school's academics have also been modified to further mitigate the virus's spread.

"To cut down on contact time and the amount of time we spend in classrooms together we're going to have our professors film some of the lectures ahead of time," says Crocker, "The students will do their readings and watch them ahead of time and then everyone will come together for discussions and to work through the actual content."

While there will still be two semesters per academic year, each one will be split into two sessions of seven weeks each with a week break in between. Students will still have the option of not returning to campus and taking all their courses online as well. All these measures have been implemented to give the school a greater degree of flexibility.

"We don't know where Saskatchewan will be in the fall as far as regulations go so we're trying to remain as flexible as possible. What that two-session model also allows is that a student can start at home in September and then see how the fall goes. Then they can join us in early November when the second session starts if at that point they decide they want to come to campus."

So far, the response to the plan from their returning students has been overwhelming, and yet Crocker understands that not everyone may feel as confident.

"I'd anticipate that there's plenty of people who won't be comfortable with this and that's why we are ensuring that we have options on both sides...the majority of the responses has been highly positive but we're not so naive as to think that that's everyone."

All students who do choose to return to campus in September will have to get tested beforehand.