Communications and Marketing

Campus Advisory

QR Code Stickers for Hazardous Materials Inventory System

August 21, 2023

This week, you’ll notice stickers with QR codes being added to the doorways of most spaces across RRC Polytech-owned campuses. These QR codes are part of the College’s Hazardous Materials Inventory System (HMIS), used by Facilities Management and on-site contractors.

By scanning the QR code, our Facilities team and contractors have access to important information through the HMIS, prior to beginning any repairs or renovations in a space.

Presently, the QR codes identify asbestos-containing materials (ACM) in a given space. The information provided through the HMIS is in addition to the robust asbestos management program and procedures already in place at RRC Polytech.

Prior to 1990, asbestos was used in several different building materials in many public spaces in Manitoba. As the majority of RRC Polytech’s buildings pre-date 1990, some spaces inevitably have ACM, as do numerous buildings and homes across the province.

While the notion that a hazardous material is present in a space may seem unsettling, there is no risk posed to staff, students and/or visitors who are occupying the space. All ACM on RRC Polytech campuses are regularly inspected to ensure they remain encapsulated in a manner that prevents any asbestos fibers from becoming airborne and posing risk to occupants.

At RRC Polytech, we are committed to keeping you informed and updated on College-wide operations. For further information about the HMIS QR codes, please see the frequently asked questions, below, or contact Safety, Health and Security Services at safety@rrc.ca.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Hazardous Materials Information System?

The Hazardous Materials Information System, or HMIS, is a system that RRC Polytech uses to track information about hazardous materials contained within spaces. Only authorized Facilities Management team members and/or contractors have access to the system, to ensure they have the information needed before starting any repairs or renovations in a space.

What are the QR codes for?

The QR codes are primarily for providing information to Facilities Management and contractors on any hazardous materials that may be in the space. It is important that this information is available to our Facilities team and contractors prior to commencing any repairs or renovations that may impact these materials.

What types of hazardous materials do the QR codes identify?

At this time, the QR codes will identify asbestos-containing materials (ACM) in that space. The QR codes are in addition to the robust asbestos management program and procedures already in place at RRC Polytech.

What is asbestos?

Asbestos is a strong, fire-resistant mineral fiber that was formerly (prior to 1990) used in several different building materials, including in many public spaces in Manitoba, for its ability to insulate against heat or noise, its fire protection properties, and its ability to add structural strength to these materials. Exposure to airborne asbestos fibers can cause lung disease and cancer.

Am I at risk for asbestos exposure?

There is no risk to occupants in spaces with ACM where the materials are in good condition and left undisturbed. ACM that are in good condition do not create a risk for asbestos fibers becoming airborne. RRC Polytech campuses are regularly inspected to ensure ACM remain encapsulated in a manner that prevents any asbestos fibers from becoming airborne.

What happens after repairs or renovations are completed in a space with ACM?

After the completion of any repairs or renovations in a space with asbestos-containing material, the area is thoroughly cleaned and air testing is done by an independent lab to ensure there are no traces of airborne asbestos. Until this testing has been performed and the area certified safe, nobody is permitted to enter the space.

Are other hazardous materials on RRC Polytech campuses?

Certain materials can be hazardous when handled or treated improperly, which is why only designated staff and contractors handle these materials. Specific to materials contained within building infrastructure, ACM is known to be present in a capacity that does not pose risk to staff, students or visitors. Our Facilities Management and Safety, Health and Security Services teams continue to monitor our campuses for any potential hazards or risks.

Why are hazardous materials only being tracked now?

Hazardous materials have always been tracked through our robust program and procedures. The new HMIS QR codes help streamline how we track hazardous materials and simplify how the information is accessed.

Bus Loop Closure at the Notre Dame Campus

May 12, 2023

Update: the bus loop closure has been extended until Wednesday, May 31 at 9:00 p.m.

The Notre Dame Campus bus loop will be closed for maintenance starting Monday, May 15, 2023, at 8:00 a.m., with service being restored Monday, May 29 by 6:00 p.m. This closure is necessary to allow for upgrades to campus roadways. 

During the closure all buses will stop at Westbound Notre Dame Ave. at Sherwin Rd. (Stop #20039), south of the South parking lot.

Vehicle access to the South Parking Lot and for daycare drop off/pickup will be redirected to Angood Avenue via the 2 East Entrance.

Accessible entrances are available at the East side of Building A, the West entrance of the South Gym or via the Skilled Trades and Technology Centre (T Building).

Signage will be posted. Please refer to the campus map, below:

If you have any questions about construction, please contact Matthew Crockett at 204.260.9916 or mcrockett@rrc.ca. For questions about parking, call 204.632.3755 or visit rrc.ca/parking.

Privacy and Security of mobile apps and social media: RRC Polytech prohibits TikTok on College Funded mobile devices

April 28, 2023

Based on the advice of our government and security partners RRC Polytech has made the decision to prohibit the social media app TikTok on all College provided and College funded mobile devices, effective immediately.

We recommend that staff and students take action regarding their online privacy and security, including a) reviewing their privacy settings and sharing behaviour on social media; b) reviewing the apps used on their mobile devices in terms of the personal data those apps collect and share; and c) discontinue using apps that demand too much personal information, including TikTok.

Message to All Staff

RRC Polytech’s IT Security and Privacy teams regularly receive information from our Government and security partners about cyber threats and risks to the college. The Government of Canada and subsequently, the Government of Manitoba have recently banned the social media app TikTok citing concerns over excessive collection of personal information by TikTok and its parent company ByteDance. While this decision is deemed precautionary, they described the level of risk posed as “unacceptable”.

RRC Polytech takes the advice and recommendations from Government and our security partners seriously. We have made the decision to prohibit the social media app TikTok from all College provided and College funded mobile devices, effective immediately. We are also recommending that staff consider removing TikTok from their personal mobile devices.

If you use a College owned or College funded mobile device, you must remove TikTok. For clarity, TikTok is not prohibited on college laptops and desktop computers. Instructors who need to use TikTok for teaching and learning, where accessing TikTok using a browser on a computer is insufficient, should reach out to CLPE or me to discuss other options.

Instructions for app removal on mobile devices:

If you require additional assistance, please contact our ITS Service Desk servicedesk@rrc.ca or by calling 204-632-2125

As we become increasingly more dependent on the many benefits of technology for entertainment, education, research, and outreach, it’s critical that everyone understands the risk and implications of the apps we use, particularly as it relates to our personal and College information.

Social media and instant messaging services such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and WeChat (to name but a few) give us the power to connect with others effortlessly and share information instantly. But using these services can grant providers easy access to our personal data and information about us, making us vulnerable to social-engineering attacks and putting our online identities, and those of our friends and family, at risk. We must be vigilant in protecting ourselves and one another.

In deciding what apps to use, you should consider the functionality of the service, what information is collected about you and your activity, how secure and private your information and online activity will be, and how companies will use and share the information they collect about you.

  • Do your research to determine whether an app or platform is trustworthy.
  • Find and read the terms of use and the privacy and data policies.
  • Consider where your data is being stored, who has access, and how it’s being used.
  • Choose security and privacy over convenience.

If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product! Advertisers pay for your use of these platforms. They collect your demographic and computer information, internet behavior, interests, and values so they can target their marketing or sell that information to others to use.

We encourage you to constantly evaluate your activity on all of your social media accounts, including updating and managing your privacy settings and limiting the amount of personal information that you share. Pay attention to what data an app has access to and don’t use apps that demand too much access. Protect your accounts with Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) and don’t cross-share passwords.

For more info: Canadian Centre for Cyber Security: Protect how you connect

RRC Polytech’s IT policies and procedures incorporate best practices to detect, mitigate and protect against cyber security threats, but our staff and students are the first line of defense, and we must all work together to ensure our information and systems remain safe and secure.

Thank you for doing your part in keeping us all safe!

Adam Gerhard, Chief Information Officer

Message to All Students

This week, Red River College Polytechnic made the decision to prohibit the social media app TikTok from all College provided and College funded mobile devices used by staff and faculty and is recommending that students learn more about the risks and consider removing TikTok from their personal mobile devices.

RRC Polytech is following the advice of the Government of Canada and Government of Manitoba, who took similar action to remove TikTok given the ongoing concerns regarding the excessive collection of personal information by TikTok’s parent company ByteDance.

RRC Polytech takes the advice and recommendations from Government and our security partners seriously, and while this decision is precautionary, the level of risk posed has been described as “unacceptable”.

While we are encouraging students to consider removing the TikTok app from their personal mobile devices, it is important to reinforce how critical it is that everyone understands the risk and implications of all the apps we use, particularly as it relates to our personal and College information. As we become increasingly more dependent on the many benefits of technology for entertainment, education, research, and outreach, everyone must make cyber security a priority.

Social media and instant messaging services such as Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, WhatsApp, LinkedIn and WeChat (to name but a few) give us the power to connect with others effortlessly and share information instantly. But using these services grant providers easy access to our personal data and information about us, making us vulnerable to social-engineering attacks and putting our online identities and those of our friends and family at risk. We must be vigilant in protecting ourselves and one another.

In deciding what apps to use, you should consider the functionality of the service, how secure and private your information and online activity will be, and how companies will use and share the information they collect about you.

  • Do your research to determine whether an app or platform is trustworthy.
  • Find and read the terms of use and the privacy and data policies.
  • Consider where your data is being stored, who has access, and how it’s being used.
  • Choose security and privacy over convenience.

If you aren’t paying for the product, you are the product! Advertisers pay for your use of these platforms. They collect your demographic and computer information, internet behavior, interests, and values so they can target their marketing or sell that information to others to use.

We encourage you to constantly evaluate your activity on all of your social media accounts, including updating and managing your privacy settings and limiting the amount of personal information that you share. Pay attention to what data an app has access to and don’t use apps that demand too much access. Protect your accounts with Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) and don’t cross-share passwords.

For more info: Canadian Centre for Cyber Security: Protect how you connect

For help removing apps, please use the following instructions:

RRC Polytech’s IT policies and procedures incorporate best practices to detect, mitigate and protect against cyber security threats, but our staff and students are the first line of defense, and we must all work together to ensure our information and systems remain safe and secure.

Thank you for doing your part in keeping us all safe!

Adam Gerhard, Chief Information Officer

Winter Storm Advisory

April 5, 2023

There is a winter storm impacting Southern Manitoba today. Winnipeg campuses remain open and will operate as usual.

RRC Polytech’s regional campuses will be operating as follows:

  • Portage campus will be open with classes as usual during the day. The campus will be closed in the evening and classes are cancelled.
  • Stevenson Southport and Stevenson Winnipeg campuses will be open with classes as usual during the day.
  • Winkler campus is closed with online delivery today.
  • Selkirk campus is closed with online delivery today.
  • Peguis campus will not have in person classes today.
  • Steinbach campus and Steinbach Language Training Centre are closed and will have online delivery.
  • Arborg Language Training Centre is closed.

For those driving both inside and outside of Winnipeg, please drive with caution and adjust to weather conditions.

Any updates to campus operations will be shared on rrc.ca/marcomm/news

Updated Notre Dame Campus Hours

March 10, 2023

Safety, Health and Security Services recently completed a review of the Notre Dame Campus (NDC) hours of operation. With a campus footprint of one-million square feet, our NDC hours needed to be adjusted to better manage security of all buildings and align with Exchange District Campus hours.

Previously, staff, students and visitors were permitted to stay on campus until midnight, which has now been updated to 11:00 p.m. This change will still allow those who are taking evening classes time to leave campus.

Effective March 13, 2023, the Notre Dame Campus is open the following hours:

Monday to Friday:

  • 6:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. All doors are open.
  • 8:00 p.m. – 11:00 p.m. All doors are locked. Doors equipped with a card reader will be accessible by employees and students by swiping their card.
  • 11:00 p.m. – 6:00 a.m. All doors are locked.

Saturday and Sunday:

  • All buildings are locked. Anyone requiring campus access must enter through Security in C Building.

We recognize that there are events in the evening and on weekends. We will work with the program/department to accommodate event access as needed. 

If you have any questions, please contact safety@rrc.ca.

National Day of Mourning for the funeral of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Monday, Sept. 19

September 14, 2022

The Government of Manitoba announced yesterday, that it will be recognizing Sept. 19 as a day of mourning for the funeral of Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

RRC Polytech will observe this day of mourning and all campuses will be closed on Monday, September 19. All in-person and remote learning classes are cancelled.

Canada is still in the midst of its official mourning period following the death of the country’s longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II at age 96, on September 8, 2022.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has deemed Monday, September 19, a federal holiday and a National Day of Mourning as Her Majesty is buried in the U.K.

The College continues to extend its deepest condolences to all members of the Royal Family and has lowered its flags to half-mast to express a collective sense of sorrow.

It is national protocol for the flags to remain at half-mast from the time of notification of death until sunset on the day of the funeral or the memorial service.

Tests and exams scheduled for Monday will be rescheduled by the appropriate program area ensuring students will not incur any negative impact from the closure.

All RRC Polytech campuses will reopen, and all classes will resume as normal on Tuesday, September 20, 2022.

WPS and WFPS Responding to Incident at EDC (Roblin Centre)

August 15, 2022

Winnipeg Police Services (WPS)  and the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service (WFPS) are on site at the Roblin Centre responding to an incident involving a member of the public who had entered the campus needing assistance. RRC Security Services responded and contacted 911.

RRC Security has confirmed there are no safety or security issues at EDC because of this incident and no threat to the RRC Polytech community.

The College is working with Security Services and the WPS to determine further information and will provide updates as they become available.

RRC Notre Dame Campus Closed Due To Manitoba Hydro Power Outage

June 9, 2021

WINNIPEG, MB – Due to a Manitoba Hydro power outage, Red River College’s Notre Dame Campus is closed and all on-campus classes and services at the Notre Dame Campus will be cancelled. This outage is the result of a pole that was damaged early this morning and is affecting a number of business and residences in the surrounding area. Hydro has advised the College that it will need an extended period of time to resolve the issue.

Program areas will be contacting students directly if this outage will affect the blended delivery of their program today.

Regular operations are expected to resume on Thursday, June 10, 2021. All other campuses remain open today.

Updates, if required, regarding the delivery of evening programs will be shared on the College’s website, through email, and on social media.

CAMPUS ADVISORY: UPDATE – Language Training Centre Re-opens Monday – January 27

January 23, 2020

Updated: January 24, 2020, 12:00PM

The Language Training Centre (LTC) will re-open Monday, January 27, 2020, with no further impact to programs currently underway. During this time, programming will only be delivered in the labs and classrooms located on the fourth floor and in the basement of the LTC.

The third floor will remain closed to all staff and students until all repair work to address issues from the flood is complete by VIA Rail and RRC.

LTC staff and faculty will remain in-contact with students regarding scheduling, class locations, and program delivery. Should you have questions related to your program or admissions for programming at the LTC, please contact Louise at eal@rrc.ca We will be able to respond to your questions when we re-open on Monday, January 27, 2020.

Updates will be provided as necessary. Please continue to monitor the College website, Staff and Student News, social media, and your academic or staff email accounts.

We are working hard to minimize the disruption created by this incident. Thank you for your cooperation and your patience.

CAMPUS ADVISORY: Language Training Centre Closed -January 23, 2020

January 23, 2020

The Language Training Centre is closed today and all classes are cancelled as the result of a flood in the Via Rail Station caused by a broken pipe.

The flooding has had a direct impact on the LTC, in addition to other areas in the building, and the College, along with VIA Rail’s facility manager, are now assessing the the impact of the flood in order to determine when the LTC can resume normal operations. Our hope is that the overall impact will be minimal, and we can resume classes as quickly and as safely as possible.

Staff, faculty, and students affected by today’s closure were advised last night, and the College will continue to provide updates through the College website, social media, and through staff and student news.

Thank you to everyone who responded quickly last night to support the LTC.

If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to contact Kerri Caldwell, Dean, School of Education, Arts & Sciences at kcaldwell@rrc.ca

 

RRC Polytech > Communications and Marketing > News > Campus Advisory

RRC Polytech campuses are located on the lands of Anishinaabe, Ininiwak, Anishininew, Dakota, and Dené, and the National Homeland of the Red River Métis.

We recognize and honour Treaty 3 Territory Shoal Lake 40 First Nation, the source of Winnipeg’s clean drinking water. In addition, we acknowledge Treaty Territories which provide us with access to electricity we use in both our personal and professional lives.

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