By Rod Zook
hutchpost.com
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — Schools are looking ahead to the start of a new year, whatever that may look like. That includes Hutchinson Community College who announced earlier that they would not start classes until August 12 and stop classes for the first semester after the Thanksgiving break. College Spokesperson Denny Stoecklein says there are things in place for the start of the semester which will offer a wide variety of class options.
“It will be a combination of face-to-face, hybrid and online classes,” Stoecklein said. “Those that are face-to-face will be practicing social distancing guidelines that are outlined in terms of distances between chairs, and mask wearing to comply with the mandate.”
Although it will be limited, Stoecklein says the college will have the resident and dining halls open for students.
“We’re planning on having students in the resident’s hall although the capacity will be reduced over what it historically has been,” Stoecklenin noted. “The disappointment is, we’re just approaching the end of an extensive renovation of that facility (dining hall). The first time it’s been renovated in decades and students aren’t going to be able to at least initially enjoy it quite to the level we’d hope they would be able to.”
Stoekclein says that the overall enrollment picture is currently mixed but says that could change in the coming weeks.
“Online credit hours are up over last fall. Not surprisingly really because I think they’re some students that say I’m going to play it safe and go online,” Stoecklein said. “Total enrollment is down a little bit for the fall.”
Stoecklein says that could be attributed to the disconnect the college had with students during the spring when school buildings were closed and students finished the year learning at home.
“One of the major factors in that we can easily look at and see where a part of that fall is in our high school numbers,” Stoecklein noted. “Historically at the end of last school year, we would have enrolled a number of high school students for the fall.”
Stoecklein says that it’s possible more and more students will stay away from four-year schools and get at least their first year of a college education from home online, thus pushing enrollment numbers up before the start of the fall semester.