Published on August 7, 2020
John A. Logan College’s top priority as the fall semester begins is to provide quality education in a safe environment. To provide a semester with a variety of formats to meet students’ needs, faculty and staff have developed four modalities to deliver courses to students this fall: online anytime, online scheduled, hybrid, and face-to-face.
Online Anytimeis a traditional online course, providing a convenient, flexible, and student-centered way of learning. Students login to the College’s online learning platform, Desire2Learn, and complete course assignments day or night, without coming to campus.
Online Scheduledis an online class at a scheduled time. Students login to their class at the scheduled times and participate in live video classes broadcast by instructors from the JALC campus. This online course format is the most comparable to the face-to-face, on-campus experience. Information for accessing the scheduled class meetings will be provided to students in their Desire2Learn course site. Similar to a face-to-face class, real-time attendance will be required in an online scheduled course. Through this format, instructors will teach courses from specified, pre-determined distance learning classrooms. These rooms will be set up with high-quality video conferencing cameras and sound equipment to establish a professional, educational atmosphere for at-home learners.
Hybrid courses will include a combination of online content and on-campus attendance. Instructors will place students into groups and create a schedule that outlines the required on-campus attendance for the semester within the scheduled meeting times for the course. The on-campus experience will include social distancing, specific entry and exit points, and require the use of face masks by students, faculty, and staff. Information regarding established groups and attendance days will be communicated via the student email account, Volmail, and the course site on Desire2Learn.
Face-to-Facecourses will deliver content to students through on-campus attendance in classrooms that allow for social distancing at all times. This on-campus experience will include social distancing, specific entry and exit points, and require the use of masks by students, faculty, and staff. Most classes, except for labs or clinicals that cannot be done online, will move to online learning beginning November 30 through December 11.
In addition to requiring masks to be worn on campus, all social distancing protocols will be enforced on campus, and students and staff will have to pass through a drive-thru health screening and have their temperature taken before entering any building. Administrators are encouraging all students to monitor their email accounts, the College website, and official social media accounts for all updates and to allow for adequate time when traveling to campus.
“Due to the health screenings and single entry point on campus, it will take longer for students to get to their classes, so they need to allow for enough time when traveling to campus,” said Vice President for Instructional Services Dr. Melanie Pecord.
Pecord added that it is vital for students to monitor their JALC email account for information from their instructors.
“Students in Hybrid classes in particular need to watch their email as the semester begins so that they know exactly what days they will be on campus, especially during the first days of the semester so that we can avoid unnecessary congestion on campus.”
Vice President for Business Services and College Facilities, Brad McCormick outlined the process that individuals driving to campus will need to follow.
“The College is implementing a single, drive-thru health screening process beginning Monday, August 10,” said McCormick. “Southern Illinois Healthcare (SIH) is providing training, PPE, thermal temperature scanning equipment and supplies, including facemasks for those that do not display them upon entry to the health screening tent.”
SIH staff will support the screening center during high traffic times as is possible, given their resource availability. College employees, students, and members of the public will be required to pass through the screening daily before being allowed to enter the campus. Persons failing the screening will be provided appropriate direction as to their responsibilities following a failed screening, but will not be permitted to enter the campus. Once successfully screened, a dated “sticker” will be provided and must be displayed on the person’s clothing. Those not displaying the required sticker will be required to leave the campus. Also, as is the case presently, face masks will be required in all public spaces. Masking is not required in private offices when able to social distance.
All inbound traffic will be required to enter the campus from the west via Greenbriar Road. Outbound traffic will exit school to the east along the frontage road adjacent to Kamper’s Supply.
The operational hours of the screening tent will be 6:30 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Monday – Thursday and 6:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Friday. Logan Fitness patrons arriving outside of those hours will be screened at Logan Fitness. Those arriving on campus outside these hours, other than Logan Fitness patrons, are asked to follow the same restrictions for entry as others, but on a self-check basis.
Classes begin on August 12, and registration ends on August 18. Students that are unable to enroll in courses at the beginning of the semester will have an opportunity to enroll in second-half block schedule classes on October 8. Questions regarding registering for classes should be sent to registration@jalc.edu.