Campus is open for lab work

Hybrid format allows in-person, hands-on training

To ensure that students gain all of the practical experiences they need to be successful, Middlesex Community College is allowing faculty and students on campus in limited numbers while following strict health and safety protocols.

The blended hybrid course format is one of the college’s four learning modalities that will be offered in the fall. Hybrid courses allow students to watch lectures and complete course work online while going to campus in-person to work on experiments in the lab.

Students are provided with MCC safety guidelines and a checklist before coming to campus. While in the lab environment, students and faculty wear appropriate personal protective equipment, sanitize all equipment and workspaces, and stay 6 feet apart from others.

A Biology major from Oregon who now lives in Boston, Rachel Peinkofer hopes to transfer to Boston University in fall 2021 to receive a Bachelor’s degree and then go onto medical school. Peinkofer enjoyed taking a hybrid course at MCC over the summer. She believes working in the labs helped her to better understand the content she learned in online lectures.

“The take-away for me has been the integration of the information from the online lecture into the tangible, hands- on aspect of the labs,” she said. “I absolutely love the online learning platform and chose MCC to continue my education for that reason. The time saved by not commuting is essential for me to take on a heavy course load. However, I was shocked how much I enjoyed the hybrid course.”

Laura Ferguson, a Nursing student from Arlington, has found that keeping in touch with her professors helps her succeed in hybrid classes. She also enjoys the flexibility she has in creating her own schedule.