The students of Cégep Édouard-Montpetit will continue the session thanks to the online courses from April 16, after taking advantage of supervision days. In order to return almost to normal life for the students, the establishment had to “think outside the box” for several weeks.
On March 27, the new school calendar was approved. According to Sylvain Lambert, the director of the university, prolonging or delaying the continuation of the courses too much was not an option. “We didn't want to wait to find out if it would start again after May 4. If there's too much time to start over, it's the worst thing for student success,” he argues. For him, it was important to maintain contact with the student community, and this was done, among other things, by the teachers, whose dedication and mobilization Mr. Lambert salutes. A 'safety net' has been established for students with remote access to professional psychologists, guidance counselors, and tailored services. Lambert is not too worried about the consequences of this incident in recent weeks. Technical students, who are in a “continuum of learning”, will be able to repeat certain concepts in the fall if necessary. However, in the next session, after the COVID-19, students who will graduate from secondary school may be slightly behind. “Haven't they worked on some mathematical notions, for example? We will have to think.”
Creative solutions
Before classes resumed digitally, students benefited from supervision days; a transition period that allows you to review and experiment with new tools for mastering online school. The director general admits that it was a big challenge to guarantee the continuity of learning in all the programs, “but we didn't see anything as impossible”. Each professor or department will be able to use tools such as Team or Zoom, according to their functionality and confidentiality preferences; tools that were already available for some. The theoretical part of the courses will be easy to convey. For the practical component of some courses, the labs will be delivered in online capsules. Manipulations will be replaced by tests.
In the Digital Image program, students no longer have access to cameras lent by CEGEP. Their projects will be transferred to mobile phones, for example, with the limitation of shooting two meters from the subject. In the audio-visuals, the teachers proposed to paint without paint, but to use the materials available to the students. Others will be called upon to create their own “limited self-portrait”. In some programs of the National School of Aeronautics (ÉNA), it was impossible to access particularly heavy software from an ordinary laptop. Students can take remote control of the CEGEP computer to access it. “We come up with a lot of creative solutions,” sums up Sylvain Lambert. As for the exams and evaluations, they will still be done, but in a different way. The CEO has warned against plagiarism attempts, while the tools to detect it have improved. The French Uniform Test (ÉUF) will be suspended for graduates, only if classes do not resume on May 4, according to the instructions of the Ministry of Education and Higher Education. The future of internships is still under discussion with the ministry.
Dropouts: a “marginal” phenomenon.
Some students have been allowed to end up with the “permanently incomplete” label, which does not affect the R rating. They will still have to retake the missed courses. For some who suddenly found themselves in a precarious situation, it was impossible to continue. Others simply canceled the session without giving a reason. The proportion remains “marginal”, says Sylvain Lambert. Although a small group of students would like to get a passing grade without continuing the courses, the principal notes that the majority of students want the session to end. “They want a diploma that has value, that allows them to enter the job market. This concern is also what drives us.”
Emergency Fund
In collaboration with Cégep's Department of Student and Community Affairs and partners, the Cégep Édouard-Montpetit Foundation has created an emergency fund to support students in dire need during the current crisis. Many are not eligible for financial aid, employment insurance, loans and grants, or do not benefit from spousal or parental support. In a few days, more than 500 students indicated that they needed financial support.
To make a donation: jedonneenligne.org/fdcem/BOURSESCOVID/
Drive-thru
CEGEP will lend laptops to students who do not have them at hand. Starting this week, a “drive-thru” system will be launched to collect devices, respecting social distancing measures.
Supporting the “war effort”.
For two weeks, the clinic located within the walls of CEGEP has become a COVID-19 assessment clinic, managed by the Integrated Center for Health and Social Services of Montérégie-Este (CISSS). Cooperation with GMF L'autre maison is also guaranteed. The teachers were put to work in regional hospitals.