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Information about returning to London for FIMS students

July 8, 2020

A Message to FIMS Students About Returning to London in the 2020-21 Academic Year:

Hello everyone and a sincere welcome to FIMS. We look forward to seeing you and interacting with you this Fall. For those who will study primarily or wholly online, we will see you there and look forward to your soonest possible return to campus. We have wonderful programs, courses, and co-curricular opportunities planned for you.

Many students have asked us about whether they should return to London this Fall and Winter, given that many courses will be held online in the 2020-21 academic year. We’re writing to respond. Our first priority, and the University’s, is everyone’s health and safety.

You can find the University’s guidance about returning to campus at the FAQ page. For FIMS, it will depend on your program. We recommend that you review your program options and course registration for the year and decide whether or when you need to be in London. (At this point, registration has opened for all undergraduates, though won’t open for graduate students until August.) You do not need to be in London for online courses, though it will be important to have a computer or other device that enables you to comfortably access course platforms, and sufficient (and reliable) internet connectivity, whether at home or nearby.

Graduate and undergraduate students will need to be in London for face-to-face (f2f) courses, offered in spaces that protect social distancing for students and instructors. All students will be required to wear face coverings (masks and/or shields) to class and to respect the spatial configurations designed for social distance.

Some programs will have f2f workshop opportunities, though also online alternatives for students who cannot come to campus. Any course in any program that meets online but provides f2f options (such as a tutorial or workshop) will also provide online alternatives for those same opportunities.

Incoming graduate students will have received program emails from their respective Graduate Program Director or Associate Dean. If you are in a program listed below and haven’t been contacted, please write to the people listed to get your questions answered.

MLIS: Prof. Grant Campbell, gcampbel@uwo.ca 
MMJC: Prof. Jeremy Copeland, jcopela4@uwo.ca 
Media Studies MA and PhD, Health Information Science master's and PhD,
and Library and Information Science PhD: Prof. Sharon Sliwinski, ssliwins@uwo.ca

Special circumstances prevail for graduate student teaching assistants in the Media Studies MA and PhD programs, the Health Information Science master’s and PhD programs, and the Library and Information Science PhD program. If you are a grad student appointed as TA in a f2f tutorial, you will need to meet your group on campus in London. Please be in touch with Professor Sharon Sliwinski, Associate Dean Graduate, at ssliwins@uwo.ca for queries and confirmations.

Again, we so look forward to welcoming everyone to campus.

Lisa Henderson
Professor and Dean