NORTH PLATTE, Neb.-Mid-Plains Community College will offer more online classes than ever this summer in wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 97 online courses are planned – as compared to 80 a year ago.
It’s part of an effort by MPCC to safeguard students, faculty and staff and to allow students to continue their education from the comfort of their own homes should they choose to do so.
The fact that MPCC has steadily been increasing its Internet-based offerings for years puts it ahead of the game in addressing coronavirus concerns.
Online classes increased from 278 during the 2018-19 academic year to 313 online classes during the 2019-20 school year, and it’s a trend that’s likely to continue.
Alexa McCall, mathematics instructor, will offer a Math for Health Occupations class online this fall. The class is a prerequisite for nursing study.
“We have offered a non-lab Anatomy and Physiology class online for years, which is taken by students across the country,” said Christensen. “However, a two-semester Anatomy and Physiology I and II with lab sequence is required for many health care majors. Having an online-only option for those classes will provide us with another way to both meet the safety concerns of our students while also meeting them wherever they are physical, whether that is Benkelman or New York.”
From Christensen’s perspective, one of the biggest benefits to taking online classes from Mid-Plains, as opposed to a four-year college or university, is that the classes have the same low student-to-teacher ratio as in MPCC’s traditional classroom settings.
“That means we have just as much time for every student,” Christensen said. “Also, most of our online classes are taught by the same dedicated, full-time faculty that teach our in-person classes.”
Students can sign up for a course throughout the first week that it is offered. A full list of upcoming classes is available at mpcc.edu/course-schedules.