Just weeks before final exams, students at several campuses of Vancouver Island University are getting an unwanted holiday.
The university has cancelled classes at its main campus in Nanaimo and at regional campuses in Duncan, Parksville and Powell River.
Seventy-two hour strike notice issued by the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association expired at the university on Thursday morning, prompting the cancellations.
As many as 18,000 full and part-time students are affected.
Strike notice issued by the faculty association at Langara College in Vancouver was also set to expire on Thursday but the college website indicates classes are continuing until further notice.
Instructors at VIU, Langara and the College of New Caledonia in Prince George have voted in favour of job action, saying contract talks have stalled on issues ranging from job security to wage increases and improved funding.
