Some NWACC employees get OK to return

Four-phase plan to start May 26

BENTONVILLE — Northwest Arkansas Community College has a plan to let staff members return to campus in four phases starting May 26.

The phases are staggered by three weeks, with the last one starting July 27, according to Liz Kapsner, a college spokeswoman. The schedule applies only to staff and not faculty. The schedule is fluid and may be adjusted in response to guidance from health officials and the governor, Kapsner said.

Employees had to leave campus in March after the college shut its facilities because of the covid-19 pandemic. The college suspended in-person classes for the remainder of the spring semester and will continue the online-only model through the summer.

The college is making tentative plans to offer in-person classes in the fall, according to a college news release.

Employees are communicating with their supervisors regarding which phase they will be returning to campus. Each supervisor will determine which employees are able to better perform their duties on campus as well as which are able to continue their duties successfully in a remote capacity for a longer time, Kapsner said.

Those who can perform their duties remotely without difficulty may continue doing so. An end date to this option has not been set, she said.

Juanita Franklin, the college’s director of Hispanic and Latino outreach and the LIFE program director, said Friday she’s waiting to hear from her direct supervisor for specific guidance on when she can return to campus.

Franklin said she’s not in a hurry to be around a lot of people and she appreciates the option to continue working from home.

“One thing I think many people have learned is there’s a lot you can actually do working from home,” she said.

She added she’s thankful to administrators for the support they’ve given employees and the way they’ve communicated throughout the shutdown.

The fall semester begins Aug. 22. The college plans to offer students the option to choose from classes that include in-person instruction, online-only instruction, or a hybrid of the two, according to the news release.

“We are cautiously optimistic that the fall semester will be able to launch with the normal face-to-face campus experience, but of course we will prioritize the health and well-being of our community when moving our plans forward,” said college President Evelyn Jorgenson.

The college will encourage social distancing, hand washing

and wearing a mask when staff and students return. The college is also creating plans to adjust instruction delivery methods if necessary, according to the release.

Bryan Aguiar, who teaches economics and statistics at the college, said prior health issues put him in the high-risk category when it comes to getting sick, but he’s not very concerned about returning to campus to teach.

Aguiar taught seven courses this spring, including four online classes and three that originally were in-person classes — a typical load for him.

The switch to all digital learning wasn’t much of a problem because he’s used to teaching online, he said.

“If I had been someone who taught just face-to-face courses, I think it would have been a nightmare to have to switch halfway through the semester,” he said.

Most students in his in-person classes handled the switch fine, he said.

The college already was seeing rising demand for online courses before the pandemic struck. There were 4,092 students — 47% of the college’s total enrollment — taking at least one online class last fall semester, an increase of 32% from three years ago, according to college figures.

The college’s Kids’ College program, which offers summer courses for kids, is moving from in-person to online, at least for June. The online courses will include a combination of synchronous instructor-led learning, selfpaced activities and virtual show-and-tell sessions each day.

Dave Perozek can be reached at dperozek@nwadg.com or on Twitter @NWADaveP.