An extended winter break for students at Thompson Rivers University because of COVID-19.

The university is delaying the start of the winter semester by a week to Jan. 11, for all face to face and virtual courses that were supposed to begin on Jan. 6, Jan. 7, or Jan. 8.

“Courses scheduled to begin [on those days] will not meet as originally planned but as per their scheduled days, times and formats the following week,” said a statement from TRU.

All courses that were scheduled to begin on Jan. 4 or Jan. 5, or after Jan. 8 are not impacted by the change. Further, courses with field placements will also start the week of Jan. 4 as scheduled.

With the new start date, TRU says the deadline to pay tuition and fees has been extended by three days to Jan. 8, instead of the previous deadline of Jan. 5.

“We are delaying the start of winter semester but will still deliver 100 per cent of the course content and learning outcomes over the reduced number of instructional days. Therefore, we will not be making further adjustments to tuition and fees,” added the statement.

“To support students who we know are facing increased financial pressure due to the COVID-19 pandemic, [we] will reduce Athletics and Recreation fees by 25 per cent for both the fall 2020 and winter 2021 semesters.”

The Reading Week break has not been impacted, and will go ahead from Feb. 15 to Feb. 19, as scheduled, while the winter semester will still end on April 13.

The TRU campus will be closed for winter break from Dec. 24 to Jan. 3, and the campus will reopen on Jan. 4. There are currently no plans to change when summer term – which is set to begin on May 3, 2021 – begins.

You’ll be able to find more information about the changes online here.