On-campus offerings expand as students continue to have choices in spring semester

As this fall semester draws to a close, many students and faculty on the Roanoke College campus are turning their eyes to the spring semester.

The spring will be similar to the fall, as students will again be able to choose their college experience. They can take an all-online course schedule and study from home, or they can come to campus and have a more in-person college experience. In the fall, all classes were done online. In the spring, there will be an array of in-person classes and some classes labeled as “flex,” that meet both in-person and virtually.

Students will have a great deal of flexibility as they choose classes for the spring. In total, 42% of courses can be taken in person and 82% of courses can be taken online. This overlap is because 24% of courses are the “flex” courses that serve both online and in-person students. Of the non-flex courses, 58% are online-only and 18% are in-person only. 

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and General Education Dr. Gail Steehler said faculty members have missed the in-person interaction with students.

"Online classes this fall have gone far better than most of us expected, but the experience isn’t the same as being in the classroom," Steehler said. "We miss the casual conversations before and after class. We miss being able to read  the room — knowing when the students are 'getting it' and when they’re not. We miss the positive energy that we receive from our students. We can’t wait to have more of them back in person this spring."

Keeping students safe

As positive COVID-19 cases spike around the country, our campus has remained safe and steady this fall. Of the 1,636 students who have been tested this semester, 70 have tested positive for the virus. These have been spread out through the semester. There have been just five faculty and staff cases this semester as well.

The College has had no documented community spread in any academic buildings. In other words, it’s unlikely that any student or faculty member has gotten the virus while in an academic building. Assistant Dean of Students and Director of Student Health and Counseling Sandy McGhee said there are also no documented cases that stem from time spent at the campus dining hall or fitness center. Extensive safely measures have been put in place in both of those locations to ensure they stay open while keeping students safe.

McGhee said the availability of rapid testing on campus helped her department quickly identify cases, and Campus Safety did an excellent job of procuring personal protective equipment (PPE) to keep employees safe. The College got a great deal of help from the state as well, McGhee said.

“Our partnership with the Virginia Department of Health was invaluable,” McGhee said. “They were very responsive to any questions we had.”

The Student Health and Counseling staff also got very proficient with contact tracing, McGhee said, which helps prevent outbreaks. She said the staff did an excellent job educating students on the expectations of isolation and quarantine while also providing the students with the services and resources they needed while they were in isolation and quarantine.