Adherence to COVID-19 Directives

Students are expected to be aware of and abide by COVID-19 directives put in place by the Province of Nova Scotia and Saint Mary’s University.  Recognizing that this is an unprecedented situation and that Saint Mary’s University is a place of learning and development, our response to students who fail to adhere to COVID-19 prevention guidelines while on campus will be driven by an educational approach with an option to engage our student conduct processes*. Our response will follow an escalating process, noting that depending on the nature and severity of the violation, the Associate Vice-President, Student Affairs and Services (or designate) may determine that a case be escalated to a more formal process within the Code (see page 15 of the Code) if required.

• First incident: failure to follow guidelines will result in Security documenting of student information and incident and the student will receive educational materials on the importance of following preventative guidelines and resources available.
• Second incident: failure to follow preventative guidelines will result in Security documenting student information and incident and the student will receive educational materials on the importance of following preventative guidelines and resources available. These incidents will be reported to Student Affairs and Services for record-keeping until the COVID-19 pandemic is deemed by SMU to have concluded. A second incident will trigger a written warning from the office of the Associate Vice-President, Student Affairs and Services that will reiterate the expectations and resources available to the student.
• Third incident: failure to follow preventative guidelines will result in Security documenting student information and incident and the student will receive educational materials on the importance of following preventative guidelines, and resources available. A third incident will trigger a requirement to meet with the Associate Vice-President, Student Affairs and Services to review expectations, understandings and at the discretion of the Senior Director or Assistant Director, may result in other outcomes/sanctions being applied to the student.

* This process outlined above is a separate process to what takes place in residence. See the Residence Code of Conduct for more information on residence responses.