A Message to all Laurier Graduate Students

Posted April 15, 2020

We have heard from a number of graduate students over the past week who have expressed concerns about how the emergency measures in response to COVID-19 will impact their graduate studies. We recognize that the constraints placed on us as individuals and as institutions creates many significant challenges. Their impact on your graduate program will depend on many factors including what type of program you are in, how far along you are, and your own personal circumstances (personal, family, financial and other facets of your life). We are working closely with the Wilfrid Laurier University Graduate Students’ Association to ensure that graduate students receive the support that they need. Together, FGPS and the GSA are striving to ensure that all graduate students are kept informed so that they can make the most out of their time at Laurier.

First and foremost, we want to assure you that we are committed to doing everything in our power to support you both academically and personally. We may not be able to solve all of your academic, financial, and personal problems caused by COVID-19, but we will do our very best to lessen the burden. Even though we appreciate the difficult circumstances, Laurier, like many Canadian universities, is not able to waive or reduce graduate tuition for the spring term (May-August) at this time.

One of the most important questions for current graduate students is, “what can you do for the spring term?” For many students, the main challenge will be adjusting to the new normal of remote and online learning. But for others, their progress may be hindered or even stopped because of a lack of access to their research subjects, research materials, labs, and field locations. For those students, a central question is whether they should maintain registration in the spring term. To be completely honest, there is no easy answer to this question. We urge you to talk with your graduate program coordinator and/or supervisor to get advice that is appropriate for you and your program.

If you require additional information on the impact of any of these options, you may also e-mail fgps@wlu.ca. Other information is available on the FGPS website. It includes updates from the dean and associate deans as well as a current list of answers to frequently asked questions. In addition, a short video from the dean of FGPS is available on YouTube. FGPS will be posting short videos once a week to highlight how the evolving pandemic impacts graduate students and postdoctoral fellows.

ONGOING SUPPORT

Externally, Laurier continues to participate actively in sector advocacy efforts to ensure that the federal government, provincial government, and the granting councils recognize the unique challenges being faced by graduate students. Examples include efforts in conjunction with the Council of Ontario Universities (COU) to continue advocating for student eligibility of the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) and for the recently announced extensions to Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) grants.

Internally, the university is adapting and expanding its supports to assist graduate students. These include:

• Establishing financial support for students, including an emergency fund that is available to graduate students
• Pay continuity for the duration of all winter term graduate student funding (TA, RA, scholarship, and studentship)
• ASPIRE professional development and training opportunities now available online through partners including Teaching & Learning, Experiential Learning and Career Development, Library, Writing Centre and others
• The Library’s eresources (ebooks, databases, journals, streaming videos, etc.) continue to be available off-campus through logging in with your Laurier network authentication
• Webinars and programming is offered to help the remote teaching development of graduate students
• The Student Wellness Centres remain open, by appointment. Remote counselling resources are available to those looking for mental health support
• And don’t forget about the GSA’s EmpowerMe. EmpowerMe is a health and wellness service that allows eligible graduate students to connect with qualified counsellors, consultants, and life coaches

The health of our students, faculty and staff continues to be Laurier’s top priority as we navigate our way through this pandemic. With that in mind, we all continue to look for ways to help students achieve their academic goals. For more information about how Laurier is addressing the COVID-19 situation, please visit the university’s coronavirus information page.

Douglas Deutschman,
Dean, Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies

Maureen Mancuso, 
Provost and Vice-President: Academic