Howard Community College Aims To Be Fully Open By Aug. 28
COLUMBIA, Md. (WJZ) -- Howard Community College plans to increase gradually in-person operations over the summer with the goal of being fully operational on campus for the fall semester, officials said.
When the Summer I Session begins June 2, college operations will be at least 50 percent. Each office, department and division will set hours to ensure the necessary on-campus coverage to assist students, other employees and the public. Officials ask that appointments be set. Buildings will be open and select study spaces will be available. Face coverings will continue to be required on campus.
The campus will be fully operational by the start of the fall semester on Aug. 28, according to a statement from the college. Virtual services will continue to be offered based upon employee or student demand.
Fall registration has started, and the college will make changes to its fall schedule until May 3 to allow for greater numbers of hybrid and in-person classes to be added. The classes will be offered in several academic areas, including mathematics, social sciences, arts and humanities, sciences, English, business, health sciences, and culinary and hospitality.
The course formats for the fall semester will be:
- Face-to-face: 100 percent on campus. There may be some online support for communications and assignments;
- Hybrid: instruction will be in-person on campus and delivered online via Canvas. Most hybrid courses are a 50-50 split;
- Scheduled remote: classes will meet at designated times in an online classroom. Times will be in the class schedule and via Zoom, Blackboard or Canvas;
- Flexible online: students will study on their own time and may or may not use Zoom. Recorded lectures will be posted for students to watch on their own time. These courses have due dates and are listed in the schedule as online.
"The college's top priority remains the health, safety, and well-being of students, faculty, and staff," said Kathleen Hetherington, president of Howard Community College. "It has been an academic year unlike any other, and faculty, staff, and students should be commended for continuing to successfully navigate remote, hybrid, and limited face-to-face instruction and services. With the reopening plan, the college maximizes student success, while maintaining necessary precautions to protect the college community."
The college's reopening committee, which worked on the reopening plan, will continue to evaluate the college's operational status using established metrics and critical indicators and will track the Howard County positivity rate for COVID-19, the county seven-day case average, and the college's reported seven-day average of positive cases. The return to a remote environment can occur when two of the three critical indicators are met: the positivity rate is above 10% over a seven-day range; the Howard County seven-day rolling average case rate per 100,000 population increases to greater than 25; or HCC's reported seven-day average of positive cases is greater than 10.
The reopening plan is available for review at howardcc.edu/reopening. For more information about the college's response to coronavirus, please visit howardcc.edu/coronavirus.
To search the schedule for summer and fall classes, visit howardcc.edu/classes. For information about the college and how to apply, visit howardcc.edu/keeplearning.
