BRYAN, Texas — Empty chairs and hallways for now, but in less than a month Blinn College District buildings will have students filling up classrooms again—at 50 percent.
“We will have social distancing measures in place," said Rebecca Reyes, an academic advisor for Blinn College District. "These are classrooms that are traditionally home to 30-32 students, but now we’ll be scaling back to 10-15.”
With the safety of their students being a top priority, Blinn is offering four different formats on how students will take courses for the upcoming semester.
- Live online
- Traditional with live online
- Blended with live online
- Flexible online
The course formats give students a way to choose a learning style and schedule that works best for them.
“We’re affording maximum flexibility, while also continuing to offer courses in that traditional medium that students tend to thrive in," Reyes said.
Everything will be virtual and there will be zero required face-to-face meetings for those opting to take flexible online courses. This learning format will allow students to work and complete content at their own pace.
The live online option also has students taking courses virtually. They will participate in classroom instruction via video conference at scheduled class times. Students are able to connect with the class and instructors without having to travel to campus.
The traditional with live online will give students the chance to experience both in-person and virtual formats. Students will be separated into groups of 10-15 students, with each group having one class day during the week where they are assigned face-to-face class time where they will meet with their instructor. The other class days they will join the class live via video conference.
The last blended online learning option offers the same as traditional, but with more than half of the instruction and assignments delivered online. It also allows students an opportunity to work at their own pace.
“Every opportunity you have to be physically present in the classroom, take advantage of that," Reyes said. "But also don’t treat the live video conference lectures as anything less than as an opportunity for you to continue to engage and continue to ask questions.”
Blinn College District is also incorporating more courses in an eight week format, as opposed to the traditional 16 weeks.
“The course is going to be a little bit more expeditious, so students are going to want to make sure they have every opportunity to engage not only with their peers but with their instructor every step of the way," Reyes said.
Blinn College District's first day back to classes is Aug. 24. Masks will be required for everyone on campus.