Classes will resume on August 31. The complete Academic Calendar for 2020 – 2021 is available online. Student Affairs is providing the information related to how we are staggering student arrival and managing the move-in process.
The 15-week fall semester will be divided into instructional blocks. A block delivers the equivalent amount of instruction over a condensed period of time. We currently already run block programming in J-Term and in the Summer. In a block format, students will engage more intensely in a course over a shorter period of time to earn the equivalent credit. The coursework and final assessment should be concluded for that course by the end of the block. As full-time students, individuals will still have the opportunity to earn 12 – 16 credits over the 15-week semester, but most students will only take two or three courses at the same time. To meet federal guidelines for financial support, students must be registered for credit or non-credit courses over the whole 15 weeks. Block scheduling will reduce the number of classes most students are taking at the same time, thus reducing the number of contacts and facilitate better contact tracing.
We are currently in the process of revising the schedule of courses to fit this block format design. Students currently registered for the fall semester will be re-enrolled in face-to-face (FTF) courses for the first 12 weeks of the semester. After the Thanksgiving break, the students will be enrolled in additional coursework offered online for the remaining three weeks of the semester.
This will require us to rebuild student schedules for the fall. Our goal is to complete that work so that students will have access to their revised schedule by the middle of August. We will do our best to re-register the students back into the courses they originally signed up for in the spring, but there may need to be some changes. We are prioritizing the students’ need to stay on track with their academic plan for completing their declared degree. During the two-week time frame, when students will need to be following quarantine guidelines either at home or on campus, students will be able to review their schedules with their advisor and develop a time management and academic support plan for the semester designed to help students get the most out of this new design.
Courses in the first 12 weeks of the semester will be offered in either a 12-week block or in 6-week blocks. Students can take 6-week block courses concurrently with 12-week block courses. For example, a sample student schedule for the fall semester may be as follows:
Table 1. Sample Fall Schedule
| Course Title | Number of Credits | Number of Weeks |
| MAT 1641 College Algebra | 3 | First 12 weeks |
| COM 2021 Interpersonal Com | 3 | First 12 weeks |
| WRT 1012 Research & Analysis | 3 | First 6 weeks |
| PSY 2061 Positive Psychology | 3 | Second 6 weeks |
| SOC 2031 Human Sexuality | 3 | Final 3 weeks online |
| 15 Total |
*This is just a sample and may not represent the actual courses available in these blocks.
In the sample described in Table 1, the student will be taking 3 courses at the same time all semester, but will complete four courses by Thanksgiving, then the student will complete the semester by taking 1 course online to after Thanksgiving. If the student successfully completes these courses, they will have earned 15 credits toward their degree in one semester.
Face coverings must be worn by all faculty, staff, students, and visitors when in the presence of others and in public. This includes, but is not limited to, during class sessions. Masks are required; however, faculty may wear a face shield while teaching. Students whose accommodations include an inability to wear a mask, may also get permission to wear a face shield in lieu of a mask. Course syllabi will include a statement indicating that students are expected to abide by the College’s Community Health Pledge, specifically, wearing a mask. Failure to do so may result in being asked to leave a class with related conduct consequences.
Courses will be scheduled into class periods held on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. Wednesdays will be reserved for academic support, community meetings, various student activities and wellness programming. 6-week block courses will meet all four days; 12-week block courses will meet two of the four days. Our intention is to keep students actively engaged throughout the week. We are doing this in partnership with student affairs. To that end, there will be no long weekends that result in cancelling classes during the semester.
FTF courses will be delivered in a hybrid class design. Faculty will define the best way to meet instructional goals, learning outcomes, and academic support using a mix of FTF and online delivery. Each class should include a minimum of 1 hour of continuous FTF meeting time with each student for each day the class is scheduled to meet. All courses will be supported by a comprehensive Canvas site that includes content and assignments so that a student or faculty member can access and complete the course online if a situation develops requiring remote learning.
Classes, labs, studio sessions are being held in spaces that have been approved for the number of students enrolled in the course to be able to attend class while practicing physical distancing guidelines. Classroom and meeting spaces will have a standardized sign posted at the entrance clearly stating the occupancy limit for the space at the current level—faculty will ensure that this number is not exceeded. Each classroom, meeting room, and public space will be set up with seating arranged so all individuals using the room can stay 6 feet apart when seated in the room. Classes with more students enrolled than the meeting space allows will be divided by the instructor into separate groups. Faculty will then divide the class period so that the smaller groups are able to meet FTF within the timeframe scheduled.
We are taking a community responsibility approach to keep us all safe. Current guidelines suggest that airborne respiratory droplets from one individual to another has the highest transmission rate, which is why we are emphasizing the need to wear face masks. However, proper hand washing and disinfection is also important. Alcohol-based hand sanitizer dispensers have been installed at the entrances of each classroom. Faculty and students will need to sanitize their hands with the classroom sanitizer dispenser upon arrival to the classroom. Before classes begin and at the conclusion of the class session, faculty and students will wipe down their instructional space using supplies provided for each space. Deep cleaning will be done nightly by our cleaning services. Campus Safety and Student Peer Leaders will monitor the hallways and entrances to buildings to remind students/faculty/staff about safety guidelines, which include, but are not limited to, wearing masks. These monitors will be able to take temperatures if there is any worry.
We realize that, even with all the safety protocols we are putting in place, some students and families may need to take courses completely online. Therefore, we are in the process of developing 100% online courses that can be available to all students online. Online only students will start the 15-week semester in an orientation to online learning support module. The official start of online only courses (Block C) will be September 14. These courses will run 10 weeks and will conclude by Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, online students will continue in the 3-week online block. A sample registration schedule for online students (Table 2) may be:
Table 2. Sample Fall Schedule—100% Online
| Course Title | Number of Credits | Number of Weeks |
| WRT 1011 Composition & Rhetoric | 3 | 10 weeks online |
| FIN 1011 Personal Finance | 3 | 10 weeks online |
| COM 1011 Intro to Communication | 3 | 10 weeks online |
| SOC 2031 Human Sexuality | 3 | Final 3 weeks online |
| 12 Total |
*This is just a sample and may not represent the actual courses available in these blocks.
Online programming will be supplemented with online academic support, advising, and social programming. If this option is of interest to you, please contact [email protected].
