CLICK TO HEAR JACK HALL INTERVIEW WITH PRES. LAURA COLEMAN
While many colleges and universities have had hundreds of students test positive for the coronavirus, that’s not been the case at Bay College.
President Laura Coleman the Radio Results Network that more than three weeks into the fall semester, Bay, as of Tuesday, had only three active cases of COVID-19.
She says students and faculty have all taken the situation seriously and are determined to have a full school year.
“They’re doing a very good job of notifying us immediately when they get a positive test,” Coleman said. “Our classrooms are spaced where students are six feet apart at all times, so we really haven’t had to quarantine who classrooms very much. They’re being very good about wearing their masks all the time, keeping that six foot distance, and also washing their hands. Doing all the things that we’re supposed to do. It has been very impressive, it really has been very, very impressive.”
Coleman says that there’s 40-percent of the classes being offered on-line, up from 30-percent at the start of the 2019 fall semester. Plus, she says there’s a new way for students to get a lecture without having to actually be in the room.
“Some faculty have two classrooms going at the same time,” Coleman said. “So there’s 15 students in one room and 15 in the next room so that they can be spaced apart. The students in teh “other room” is taking part through IT (interactive television), and if they have a question or need something more persona;, the instructor can go into the other room.”
Coleman says she’s not declaring victory just yet.
“My thing right now is, I just want to get through the next two weeks out of Labor Day weekend,” Coleman said. “Then, I’m going to be able to take deep breaths. Overall, they’re just doing a fantastic job of following the rules.”
And the longtime president added that everyone is adjusting on the fly as this semester moves on.
“We’re creating a new form of higher education,” she said. “And our students are creating a new reality of being a higher education student. They’re learning how to learn in lots of different modalities. Any kind of modality that’s out there, we’re using it.”
Classes began two weeks early at Bay, on August 17. Students are still being housed on campus, in particular, Norse athletes from outside of the area. The Bay baseball and softball teams are set to begin fall practice, the cross country team’s season will begin soon, and the basketball teams, while having competition postponed until January, can still train on campus.
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