While not all of VIU's buildings on the Nanaimo Campus have public showers, many of the newer facilities have been constructed with showers in an effort to provide access for people who choose alternate modes of transportations like bikes or walking.
Future facilities will continue to expand access to public washrooms and showers.
The locations for all showers, bike lockers and bus stops can be found on the Nanaimo campus map.
Organic composting bins are located in the following buildings:
- The main seating areas of building 185 (lower cafeteria) and building 300 (upper cafeteria)
- The open space, bottom floor of building 205
- The open areas of building 250
- The open space, bottom floor of building 255
In 2006 emerging from our experience while working through LEED certification of our Faculty of Management Centre (Building 250) was the adoption of a comprehensive janitorial program developed by Johnson Diversey called Healthy High Performance Cleaning (HHPC). First and foremost, HHPC focuses on the health of building occupants and the cleaning staff as well as the reduced impact the products and procedures have on the environment, both indoors and outdoors.
HHPC starts with quality environmentally preferable chemicals. It goes well beyond chemicals, however, and provides environmentally preferable cleaning strategies, procedures, training, and purchasing guidelines for consumables, tools and equipment.
Bike Parks are located throughout the campus and provide secure bike storage (including gates) with card access for VIU Students and Employees.
Bike Parks are equipped with security cameras, lighting and power and include bike racks and a repair station.
If it is necessary to close the Nanaimo campus due to weather conditions, announcements will be carried on the following media outlets:
Television Stations
- A Channel - Cable 12
- CHEK-TV - Cable 6
Radio Stations
- The WAVE 102.3 FM (Nanaimo)
- The WOLF 106.9 FM (Nanaimo)
- CHLY 101.7 FM (Nanaimo)
- The BEACH 88.5 FM (Parksville)
- SUN FM 89.7 (Duncan)
- The PEAK 93.3 FM (Port Alberni)
- CBC 90.5 FM (Victoria)
The main switchboard, 250-753-3245, will announce the closure, starting at 6 am.
Yes, We use a variety of products, of which salt is one. Salt cannot be used on concrete, so we use other deicing chemicals, as well as sand. Temperature affects such chemicals; for example, salt is more effective at -6℃ and warmer.
Road and weather conditions in the city are monitored and the decision to close is based on input from the RCMP, the City, and the School District. Many students drive long distances to get to classes at Vancouver Island University, so weather reports and road safety to and from campus are also considered.
View information on Confidential Shredding. A Material Handling Request must be completed and submitted to Facilities Services.
Most building ventilating and heating systems are configured such that when it gets too hot in some areas the system will slowly cool the air to stabilize the temperature. Sometimes the system is more aggressive in doing this which causes the colder than normal drafts. Contact Facilities if this is happening in your area.
If the work you are requesting is Maintenance related then you have two options.
- You can contact the Manager, Building and Grounds at Rob.Bauer@viu.ca to initiate the discussion.
Please be sure to provide a detailed description of the work in your email. - You can submit a service request.
If your work is a request for a renovation / new construction, please visit the Campus Development Service Centre for more information.
Facilities Services programs all Employee Access cards.
To request programming complete a Key/Card request form and submit to the Facilities Services and Campus Development office. Please include the ID number on the back of your employee card (11:12345)
You can review what doors require card access at Access Control Floor Plans.
Be sure to include an expiry date if the programming is only for a term period. If the appointment is extended or becomes permanent, you need to email Facility@viu.ca with the new extended date or if it is a regular position.
Programming for Student Access cards must be completed through departmental area secretaries.
There can be a few reasons why an access card does not work.
- If the card reader beeped and the light blinked between red and green a few times then your card does not have the proper programming to access this door. If your card worked previous to this occasion then perhaps your card has expired.
All new access cards are created without any access programming.
- If the card reader did not respond (no sound or blinking light) then either your card or the reader are malfunctioning. Contact Facilities Services at Local 6500 or email to discuss your problem.
Please contact Facilities Services at 250.740.6500 or Facility@viu.ca and someone would be happy to assist you.
The Virtual Alarm (VA) system is not an alarm system as one commonly thinks as there are no bells and whistles that go on or off. This VA is a programming tool will allow a door or a set of doors to be locked and unlocked with the swipe of a card assigned the proper authorization and the doors will remain in that state until that same card or another card with the same authorization is presented to the reader to change the doors state from unlocked to locked and visa versa.
If the reader displays a red light the door (or set of doors) is currently locked. When you swipe your Access/ID Card the light on the reader will turn green within 3 seconds and then you must open the door. The door will now remain in the unlocked state until the same card or another card with the same authorization is presented to the reader at which time the door (or set of doors) will go back to the locked state with the reader displaying a red light within 3 seconds.
Points of Consideration
- To Start the unlocking sequence the door must be closed. Then swipe your card, the reader light will turn green and then you must open the door to complete the unlocking sequence. The reader will then stay green and the door unlocked until the reader is swiped with an authorized card.
- In order for this system to function properly the door locks have to be removed from an automated locking and unlocking schedule. This means that this door (or group of doors) can only be locked or unlocked by an authorized Access/ID Card or manually through a workstation connected to the Access Control System.
- If you approach a door that is already unlocked and are not aware that it is unlocked while you present your Access/ID you will relock the doors. If this happens simply close the door and present your Access/ID again time to return the doors to their recent unlocked state.
Caution with After Hour Entry
When you are entering the door after normal operating hours or an area that has been temporarily closed (for a department meeting as an example) and do not want the door (or group of doors) to remain open you must swipe your Access/ID Card a second time to relock the door (or group of doors). This second swipe can be performed while the door is open as you are walking through.
For example, you approach the door in the evening or early morning when the building is normally locked. The first swipe of your Access/ID Card will unlock the door (or group of doors) and then you must open the door. With the door open you can then swipe your Access/ID Card a second time and with in 3 seconds the doors (or group of doors) will relock behind you. Ensure the door closes properly and the entry will be secure.
More information on parking permits can be found at VIU Parking