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Public Relations and Marketing | Published Jun 25, 2020
College of Lake County (CLC) will be open in the fall with various flexible course formats. In accordance with Restore Illinois and college transition plans, students can take online, in-person and blended classes when the semester starts August 24, 2020.
While many college classes will now be online in either a live class via Zoom format or online anytime, CLC will offer 8- and 16-week in-person classes. These focus on course work with unique needs such as labs or other exercises requiring specialized equipment. Additionally, the college will provide general education classes in a face-to-face format, including the new hybrid Flex Path classes.
To help students who have a hard time finding classes that fit their busy lives, CLC created Flex Path. This new 8- and 16-week class schedule blends online learning with in-person classes one day per week. Utilizing smart scheduling, each class rotates across different time blocks term by term. For example, if a student is available Monday evenings, they’ll get a different course option in that time frame each 8-week period. Instead of rearranging work, family or other obligations every semester to make room for when a class happens to be available, Flex Path ensures there’s always a course ready when students are.
“I believe Flex Path is going provide access to the classes our students need for degree completion and advancement in a manner that maximizes their learning while also fitting into the rest of their lives,” said communication, humanities and fine arts dean Sheldon Walcher. “The research is pretty clear: students learn best in programs that combine aspects of traditional and online instruction. With that in mind, Flex Path courses have been carefully designed to provide a rigorous, highly engaging learning experience by blending the best elements of hands-on learning with outstanding online tools and resources.”
Students with in-person classes this fall should expect social distancing in the classroom will continue to keep everyone safe in the new COVID-19 reality. CLC has prepared plans to transition students back to campus with safety and social distancing in mind. Fall in-person classes and labs will commence with social distancing of at least six feet apart, face masks, extra hand sanitizer, modified work and student spaces with deep cleaning on a regular basis of classrooms, restrooms and campus spaces.
To help ready campus for students to return, an interdisciplinary college taskforce created a college transition plan. The plan is a gradual phased approach to prepare CLC’s campuses for the delivery of fall classes, designed to maximize health and safety of our campus community based on public health guidance and aligns with the Restore Illinois plan. The plan is built for flexibility based on new information from the governor, Illinois Department of Health, Lake County Health Department and Illinois Community College Board.
About College of Lake County:
The College of Lake County is a comprehensive community college committed to equitable high-quality education, cultural enrichment and partnerships to advance the diverse communities it serves in northeastern Illinois. Offered at three campuses in Grayslake, Vernon Hills and Waukegan or online, college classes are affordable and accessible to help each student achieve academic, career and personal goals. More than 70,000 students graduated with degrees and certificates since the college opened in 1969. The College of Lake County is the only higher-education institution ranked among the top 15 best places to work in Illinois by Forbes and is a national leader in many areas, including sustainability and conservation.