Talks resumed Friday between Vancouver Island University and the Vancouver Island University Faculty Association.
Talks had broken off on Thursday in a strike that began March 10.
The university had set April 11 as the deadline for a decision on whether to extend the semester - saying that if the strike lasted beyond that date, it would become more difficult to salvage the semester given students' work and travel commitments.
The university and the faculty association are at loggerheads over several issues, including job security.
Students rallied in Nanaimo on Friday to talk about their concerns over potentially losing a semester, and the financial and personal consequences of the strike.
In a statement Friday, the VIU students' union said it supported the faculty.
"Since 2001, funding to VIU and other post-secondary institutions in B.C. has been reduced by more than 15 per cent per student," the students' group said. "This reduction has meant that VIU has provided service to more students with less funding, meaning more work for faculty, staff and administrators and less service and course selection for students."
VIU has more than 18,000 full- and part-time students, including 1,100 international students. Its main campus is in Nanaimo and it has regional campuses in Duncan, Powell River and Parksville-Qualicum.
Wendy Stueck