Colleges go online or cancel classes

All 2-year colleges make adjustments

All of Arkansas’ 23 community colleges have moved instruction online, turned to other distance methods or canceled coursework in response to the high risk of covid-19 infection.

Most have turned to online or distance learning, like their four-year counterparts, but a few have ceased classes without firm plans to resume operations, should the threat of infection remain after spring break ends.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette attempted to contact all of the state’s 23 community colleges about their plans to accommodate for covid-19 infection risk, and received responses from 12. The other 11 had regularly updated pages on their websites with information about their responses to the virus.

Ceasing coursework altogether is in part because of the technical nature of their curriculum, some colleges said. All of the state’s community colleges have a high amount of technical programs, such as welding.

Eight colleges — the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College, Ozarka College, Southern Arkansas University Tech, Black River Technical College, the University of Arkansas Community College at Hope-Texarkana, Southeast Arkansas Community College, Arkansas Northeastern College and South Arkansas Community College — canceled all courses this week. Some said classes that were online-only continued this week.

Some have characterized it as an extended spring break, with the intention of reopening March 30.

A couple of schools began online and distance-only instruction Tuesday. Many began Monday.

Most campuses said they weren’t postponing semesters.

Southeast Arkansas Community College, which was the first college or university to announce it would stop in-person instruction, is delaying the start of its “late 8-week courses.”

Midterms and finals can be taken on Moodle, a web-learning platform used by the college and other schools in Arkansas. The school is looking at the possibility of extending virtual operations beyond spring break.

The University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College has discussed moving hands-on laboratory work to May, spokesman Tim Jones said. But that is the extent of any delays discussed by the college, which had previously announced classes would be canceled through at least March 30.

The college doesn’t want to disturb its summer and fall terms, Jones said.

The University of Arkansas Community College at Morrilton will likely hold hands-on laboratories during an “extended spring semester,” Chancellor Lisa Willenberg told the campus this week.

While on-campus classes remain canceled across the state, several schools said they were keeping certain buildings open for students who need to access the Internet or library services because they don’t have reliable Internet access at home. Several announced their food pantries would remain open.

Faculty have often been ordered to report to work on campus during that time, but some schools have closed completely for deep cleaning and extended breaks.