Midlands Tech tells students new plans for classes for upcoming semester
As cases of COVID-19 continue to rise in South Carolina, Midlands Technical College announced it has revised class plans for the rapidly approaching fall 2020 semester.
Midlands Tech will offer students multiple options for attending class during the coronavirus pandemic. Classes are scheduled to begin on Aug. 24.
Courses can be taken in four different ways, college officials said Tuesday in a news release — traditional on-campus classes, virtual instruction, online lessons, and a hybrid option.
Virtual classes will meet at set times with live, real-time instruction and classmate interaction through web conferencing, according to the release.
While similar sounding, online courses are different in that they are self-paced with due dates for assignments, college officials said.
As the name implies, officials said hybrid courses are a mix of either virtual or online instruction, in addition to traditional in-person classes.
“Up until the pandemic hit, a normal fall at (Midlands Tech) would be made up of about 75% on-campus and 25% online courses,” college provost Barrie Kirk said in the release. “Based on data about the virus and student feedback, we decided that a major shift in course delivery options was necessary.”
That ratio is expected to tilt in the fall, with the majority of instruction to be delivered in virtual classes.
College officials expect virtual classes will make up 45% of the courses in the upcoming semester. Traditional on-campus education will compose 33% of the classes, followed by online classes at 16%, and the hybrid format rounding out the options with 6% of the courses, according to the release.
“At (Midlands Tech), we like to say, ‘You can get anywhere from here.’ That is true for all of our learning formats,” college President Dr. Ronald L. Rhames said in the release. “We have worked hard to make sure we are providing more course delivery options than ever before. The goal is to accommodate the desires of every student wishing to start or continue their educational pursuits.”
In the spring, as cases of COVID-19 began to increase, Midlands Tech joined most other universities and colleges in South Carolina by switching to remote classes. Only online classes were offered to students over the summer semester.
Midlands Tech said it has received positive feedback from students about the plans for the fall semester.
“This has definitely been even better than being in person because of all the flexibility,” nursing student Clarissa Salas about the virtual courses in the release. “I was super scared … but I would definitely do it again, and I think that’s my number one preference now.”
Faculty will present live virtual class demonstrations on Wednesday and Thursday, according to the release. The demos are free and will show what the new virtual learning experience looks and feels like, officials said.
There could be more students taking the variety of Midlands Tech class options next semester.
As an unexpected result of the coronavirus pandemic, more South Carolina residents could be looking to technical college for an education because they cost less than four-year schools and require less time to complete a degree.
“We do think we will see an increase in students coming to us out of high school,” S.C. Technical College System President Tim Hardee told The State in a previous interview. “There is also a reality we expect many of those unemployed people coming back to technical school because they want to reenter the job market and need a skill to do that.”
Once school starts, Rhames told The State he expects enrollment at Midlands Tech to exceed last year’s.
In 2018, Midlands Tech’s enrollment was about 10,000 students, with 4,239 attending full time and another 5,653 listed as part-time students.
MTC Academic Courses for Fall of 2020 | Total # of each | Percentage of total offerings |
On-Campus – Traditional classes that meet on campus. | 535 | 33% |
Virtual - 100% digital. Live instruction. Specific days. Specific times. | 726 | 45% |
Online - 100% digital. Self-paced with due dates. | 263 | 16% |
Hybrid - On campus, plus virtual or online. | 91 | 6% |
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