NCTC to begin reopening campuses this month

North Central Texas College Chancellor Dr. Brent Wallace announced this week that NCTC will begin reopening its six campuses in three phases over the next few months.

NCTC has campuses in Flower and Corinth.

The first phase, set to begin June 15, will focus on the return of select employees who need to be on campus to complete essential services. All student services will continue to be offered remotely, according to a news release from NCTC. Select Career and Technical Education courses will begin meeting on a limited basis on campus to conduct hands-on training that could not be completed remotely. Classrooms and labs have been modified to ensure proper social distancing among students and instructors.

Phase 2 will begin July 20, pending the successful implementation of the first phase. Additional employees will return to work on-site, not to exceed half of full-time employees in any given area. At this time, student services will begin to be offered on a limited basis on-campus by appointment only, according to the news release.

The final phase is scheduled to being Aug. 17 when additional employees will return to campuses and student services on campuses can be expanded.

NCTC plans to offer face-to-face, blended, and fully online courses for Fall 2020, with a concentration in blended and fully online courses. All classes with a face-to-face component will be enhanced virtually with online instruction conducted synchronously. To control on-campus presence and classroom density, students registered for face-to-face and blended classes will rotate between those modalities, allowing all students in the class to experience both face-to-face and remote instruction.

To accommodate social distancing requirements, course caps will be lowered to ensure that social distancing guidelines are met and that classrooms will host no more than one person per 36 square feet and meet any local and state guidelines. Additionally, the college will offer an expanded selection of Saturday courses to help meet student course needs while limiting course capacities.

NCTC currently anticipates having athletics in the fall, but will release formal plans after guidance from the National Junior College Athletic Association comes out later this month.