By Drew C. Wilson | dwilson@wilsontimes.com | 252-265-7818
All of Wilson Community College courses except one can be completed by Monday, which is the end of the semester.
One course, surgical tech, with about a dozen students in it, cannot be completed due to requirements that students have assisted in a certain number of surgical procedures to complete the course.
“I think we have risen and met the challenges better than anyone could have anticipated,” said Rob Holsten, vice president of academic affairs.
Back in March when the state of emergency was declared due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the college extended its spring break and moved all courses to online instruction in both curriculum and continuing education.
“Since that time, about six weeks into this situation, we continue to have online instruction,” Holsten said.
Registration for summer classes began Friday, but he anticipates that students will not be back on campus for at least part of the summer if not all of the summer.
“We are now having all online instruction for the summer in hopes that at some point over the summer things might start opening back up enough that we could get some students back into some hands-on labs,” Holsten said.
Health programs have been particularly hard hit by the loss of hands-on lab work.
“The nursing programs especially and surgical tech, under that umbrella, they need to get into the hospitals to do their clinical time and get those hours in, and they can’t do that if they have to do everything online.”
Courses in the trades, including welding and the automotive, were also hit hard.
“You can’t disassemble and assemble an engine in your living room,” Holsten said.
“I am really hoping, and we are all keeping our fingers crossed and are hopeful, that at some point during the summer, things can open up enough that we could bring at least some students back with some social distancing and personal protective equipment and let them do some of that hands-on,” Holsten said.
But administrators are planning that such an opportunity will not happen and that courses will remain online.
With the exception of the surgical tech program, most WCC classes and students will be able to complete their courses and move on.
Surgical tech students will get incompletes.
“We will finish that up as soon as they can get back into a hospital setting, which, again, may be as early as summer,” Holsten said.
Students and faculty interact through social media as well as web meetings.
“We have positioned ourselves for two years giving every course an online presence. So everybody was familiar with online. Some had to quickly gear up to teach online, but everybody had exposure and at least minimal experience with it, which I think really put us in a position to meet this need quickly.”
Holsten said the college faculty is now meeting to decide exactly how a graduation might be held, perhaps a virtual graduation.
“When you start digging into the logistics and what makes sense, there is a lot to figure out, but we are going to do something to recognize students,” Holsten said.
“We just have to work through what would that look like.”
Holsten estimated that more than 150 students will graduate this year. Last year there were 189 graduates.
“Our focus up to this point has been just to get the courses done,” Holsten said. “Now we are turning our attention to graduation because it is important. We want to make sure it is recognized.”
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