The President of the Thompson Rivers University says he is excited but also a little nervous as students were given the all-clear to prepare to return to campus this fall.

Speaking on NL Newsday, Brett Fairbairn says the safety of staff and students will remain the top priority.

“TRU and other universities were involved in developing the guidelines for our sector, we look forward to being involved in the new version of them,” he said. “So I don’t know when exactly that would be, but we are certainly eager to pin down the details as soon as its practical to do so.”

“While we are excited to have so much happening in person in the fall, we’re very concerned that it be safe. For that we really rely on that expert advice and that is the provincial Go Forward Guidelines that we’ll really follow to ensure what we do is safe for everyone.”

About 90 per cent of all students at Thompson Rivers University had to take classes online this past school year because of COVID-19 restrictions. The only exceptions were for some science labs and practicums as well as trades programs owing to the small class sizes and physical distancing protocols.

Fairbairn was asked how the university will make its decisions to bring people back to campus for the 2021-2022 school year.

“There are two layers to that. The first is what is safe. And that is something where we’re talking to our public health officials and working on new versions of our Go Forward Guidelines,” he said. “And the second bit then is taking to the faculty, the staff, and the students about how exactly that works in different programs.”

The latest on TRU’s plans for a return to campus this fall can be found online here.