Friday Message 25 June Fall 2021

Campus Re-Entry, Tuition Draw for Vaccinated Students, UPASS Goes Digital!

In-Person Classes in Fall 2021

We are extremely pleased to announce that St. Mary’s University will be returning to campus this fall. More classes will be in-person, and more student and public services will return to campus at a level we have not seen since before the COVID pandemic altered our ways of life.

It is time for the St. Mary’s community to finally come back home and we couldn’t be happier. Ours is an institution rooted in the personal experience, the face to face interactions, those often quiet moments that resonate so much with our students, staff, and faculty.

The health and safety of our community is, and will continue to be, our main priority.

Our decision to transition back to campus is grounded in the latest public health and safety guidelines. Vaccinations have been critical in allowing this to happen. As the number of vaccinated people grows, health guidelines around physical distancing and public gatherings can finally ease. This is what enables us to safely begin moving back to campus for the Fall 2021 semester.

More details will be shared as they become available, but for now we wanted to let you know that St. Mary’s University will be back, and better than ever, live and in-person, this fall.

We simply can’t wait to welcome you back, it’s been far too long.
Dr. Gerry Turcotte, President

Ramping up Food Services for Fall

Here’s a tasty tidbit – pun intended! Just one of the many tasks to get ready for fall classes is ramping up our food services. We have been shuttered all through COVID with nary a coffee or salad or dessert in sight. That is all changing.

This week your Director of Campus Services, Mike Clark; VP Advancement & Campus Services, Therese Takacs; and I, your VP Academics & Student Services, spent an afternoon sampling new possibilities for our food services menu. These cheesecake pops are definitely on my shortlist!

It’s a tough job but someone has to do it!!

Draw for 1 term Full Tuition and StMU Bookstore Gift Cards for Fully Vaccinated Students

Our community’s safety is important to us. We know the best way to protect against the COVID virus is to be fully vaccinated. To encourage safety across our campus and get the highest possible vaccination rate, StMU is offering a draw for a full term of tuition* – one for BA/BSc students and one for students in BEd – plus a chance to win one of 3 gift cards to the StMU Bookstore for $200 each for students who submit proof of 2 vaccinations.

To enter the draw, email a copy of your proof of 2 vaccinations to registrar@stmu.ca by noon on Sept. 14, 2021. The information will be kept confidential. The draw will be held on Sept. 15, 2021.

Vaccines are open to all Albertans aged 12 and over. For more information about booking your vaccines, follow https://www.albertahealthservices.ca/topics/Page17295.aspx
*the full amount of tuition for courses in which students are registered up to and including 5 courses

New for Fall 2021 – the UPASS goes digital!

With the anticipation of a return to campus in Fall 2021, the UPASS, your unlimited City Transit pass, is back! The UPASS in previous years was a transit sticker applied to StMU ID cards that entitled all full-time students access to transit services (buses and trains) for the Fall and Winter terms. This year, we’re going digital! No waiting in line to get your sticker, no forgetting your student ID card at home, and a convenient digital pass that is securely assigned to you on your mobile device through your StMU university provided email address.

For Fall 2021, the StMU’s UPASS will be available on Calgary Transit’s My Fare app. My Fare is a mobile ticketing app that allows you to use the UPASS directly from your mobile device. My Fare is available on the majority of iOS or Android devices installed with the current or previous major version operating system. Downloading the My Fare app is easy and convenient from Google Play and Apple Store.

Access to UPASS on My Fare will require your StMU email address (firstname.lastname@stmu.ca). In the coming weeks, we will be asking you to confirm that your StMU email address may be provided to Calgary Transit in order to access your UPASS on My Fare. The Fall 2021 UPASS will be valid from September 1st – December 31st 2021. Keep an eye on your StMU email in July for updates and instructions on how to get My Fare so you can utilize your UPASS for the full Fall and Winter semesters!

Next Friday Message
As lots of staff are on holidays over the summer, we will move to Friday messages every other week. Stay tuned for the next bulletin on July 9.

Until then, keep safe and be well!
Tara Hyland-Russell
Vice-President Academic
St. Mary’s University