Onondaga Community College is ready for a fall semester that starts August 31 and combines the world of virtual education with in-person classes. OCC submitted a plan to SUNY that makes several changes to ensure the safety of everyone on campus this fall. It includes some classes that are a combination of in-person and remote learning.
"Say if you have a Monday, Wednesday and Friday class, the class would be split into thirds. And one-third would be physically present on the day of instruction and two-thirds would be a remote technology at the same time," said OCC President Casey Crabill. "That allows all students to have face to face participation with a faculty member."
Some other classes will be delivered totally online. Residence halls will be open, but there will only be one student per room. One of the dorms will be set aside in case a student tests positive for COVID-19.
Crabill said OCC followed state regulations in creating a safe plan for the campus community, that includes testing everyone who steps on campus.
"Visitors, faculty, staff, and in the fall students, will go through a screening process, a temperature check, a series of questions, you get a wristband that shows you went through it that gives you permission to be on campus that day," she said.
There’s still discussion about potential student gatherings, like clubs or concerts.
All on-campus instruction will end before the Thanksgiving break, and any further schoolwork would be done remotely. OCC’s plans were approved by SUNY this week, and Crabill wants information out now for families still unsure what fall in college will look like.
"We will be here and it will feel like college. And I think families are waiting to understand what institutions are going to do," she said.
