The following defines how Central Ohio Technical College (COTC) will deliver its autumn semester courses. As has been the standard during the worldwide pandemic, this plan is subject to change in the event of governmental orders and/or safety concerns for students and staff. Essentially, this plan is our best guess as to how academic and enrollment management will handle the autumn semester.
Academic Affairs
COTC will strive to keep the student experience as normal as possible during these abnormal times. While there will be changes as to how we deliver our lecture courses, the following will serve as our re-engagement strategy:
All lab classes that require a physical presence will function normally and in-person. The majority of these classes deal primarily (though not exclusively) with healthcare programs, many of which had a trial run of how to operate with the new CDC standards this summer. Any program needing on-campus access to a lab will be required to submit a plan for how they intend to operate prior to moving forward. The plan will be approved by the dean, provost and president.
Lab classes that can function as hybrid (meeting fewer days in person, using technology to reduce person-to-person contact) should do so. Again, this decision is best left to the faculty with approval given from the appropriate supervisor. Final approval is at the discretion of the provost and president.
Labs that can be offered in a virtual environment should plan to do so. There is no further approval needed for a virtual lab. Faculty should strongly consider scheduling days/times for the labs so that students know what to expect at the time of registration.
General education courses and labs will be offered remotely or via online for the autumn 2020 semester. Remote courses will be scheduled for synchronous delivery via Zoom.
Lecture-only classes will remain on Zoom but will be scheduled and delivered synchronously. Faculty will work with enrollment management and their respective dean to establish days/times of delivery. While the lectures will be given live, students will not be required to attend due to the life/home complexities created by the pandemic. All lectures will be recorded and available to students on-demand, via Zoom.
The majority of academic programs will cease any physical contact with students prior to the Thanksgiving break. While classes will not end at that point, those labs/clinicals that are able to finish by then are encouraged to do so. Those with cumulative final exams that require a student presence after Thanksgiving will be allowed to do so, pending approval from the plan submitted to the dean (see above). COTC intends to follow the normal semester schedule, including breaks. All classes (except those mentioned above) moving to remote delivery after the Thanksgiving break.
- All courses will hold to the same finals schedule as noted in the academic calendar. Faculty may allow for a final to be available for multiple days (via OpenLMS) but the final must be open during the published time.
Faculty are encouraged to use Zoom for virtual one-on-one visits with students. Additionally, faculty may use Zoom for office hours as well. In extenuating circumstances, faculty can schedule face-to-face time with students. Those appointments must occur in an open space (i.e., classroom or conference room) and not in faculty offices.
- In cases where a face-to-face appointment needs to occur, the request needs to be made in advance so that the proper room can be reserved for the meeting.
Faculty may utilize their offices at any time during business hours. All protocols in place at the time of the visit must be followed (i.e., masks, temperature check, etc.).
- Faculty should keep their doors closed while in their office to avoid having students walk-in unannounced or unscheduled.
Regardless of any major positive development, COTC will follow this plan. We will not ask students to come back to campus in the middle of the semester, even if the pandemic is declared over and a vaccine/treatment is readily available. While this is not likely, it will be important for us to message to our students that we will stick to this plan regardless of what may play out on treatments.
Faculty should be prepared to once again move to entirely remote if a resurgence of the virus appears or if the college is forced to do so by governmental order. It is important to note that this could happen at any time during the autumn semester.
Every effort should be made to ensure that students’ books and supplies are readily available on the first day of class. This will necessitate faculty working with the bookstore more than usual.
All faculty will be required to participate in the college’s early alert process. It will be imperative for 100% participation to ensure that we are reaching out to students who have fallen off the radar or otherwise never checked in to a class. The process will likely include more check-ins than normal given the remote instruction environment.
Enrollment Management
COTC’s Enrollment Management department will continue to offer all services remotely for the autumn semester. A small number of staff will be on campus throughout the fall on a regular basis.
Advising appointments will be mainly virtual. In cases where a physical appointment is absolutely necessary, advising staff will follow all protocols for social distancing, mask wearing, temperature checks, etc. Physical appointments will only be approved on an as-needed basis and even then, only when extenuating circumstances are present.
A small number of Gateway staff will maintain a physical presence on campus. This plan is still being finalized and the staff that are present will not be available for public interaction. All public, physical interactions with Gateway staff must be scheduled in advance. Walk-in appointments will not be available.
Admissions will continue to host events in a virtual format. No in-person events will be scheduled for the fall semester.
CCP will operate under only CCP-A and CCP-C. COTC will not send faculty to high school sites (CCP-B) during the autumn semester.
Early alert staff will continue to work with faculty to ensure that all reports are being completed. Additionally, much like the summer semester, a highly intrusive effort will be made to contact all students who have been flagged by faculty as falling behind or have not attended in over a week.
Student Life & Support Services
In partnership with The Ohio State University at Newark, COTC is making plans for all student support services to remain available virtually. This will be the preferred method of student support (tutoring, testing, proctoring, etc.). In cases where a physical appointment is needed, student support will develop guidelines as to how these appointments will be accommodated. This process is still being finalized and will be announced once it has been approved by both COTC and Ohio State Newark leadership.