Kirkwood Community College staff have been working for months to develop protocols to return to classes safely as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Kirkwood Washington Regional Center Director Tera Pickens shares how things will look this fall term for traditional lecture-based classes, “This does not mean online in the sense the students just sign on and do class whenever they want. We will be offering the classes during their traditionally scheduled class time in a virtual format using Zoom. So, students and instructors will still have live discussions, there will be engaging activities, group work, it will just be in that virtual environment to ensure everyone’s health and safety.”

Pickens adds that Kirkwood also offers hands-on courses that can’t be replicated virtually and those will still be offered on-site like those for the automotive academies, advanced manufacturing, welding, and architecture and engineering. She says there will be strict guidelines for students and staff to follow, “Once you enter our building it looks a little differently, we have a PPE station set up right as a student enters the front door. If they’re not already wearing a face covering, they will be required to wear a face covering. We have hand sanitizer stations set up throughout the building. The students that are working in the lab, in addition to wearing face coverings, they will be issued gloves that they’re wearing in class and they would also have to adhere to social distancing. So, we’re doing everything that we can to keep the students and instructors safe, but also still provide that engaging, rich learning environment using that lab space and equipment that are just critical to those offerings.”

Kirkwood Community College begins classes at all locations on August 31st.