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DOWAGIAC — Students at one southwest Michigan community college will not be seeing the inside of a classroom for the rest of the semester due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 outbreak.

Monday, Southwestern Michigan College announced it would extend its suspension of in-person learning through the end of the semester. All teaching and classwork will take place online for the remainder of the semester, which ends May 1. Administrators said the announcement aligns with other colleges in the area.

“A lot of places around us are doing this, and we feel, ultimately, the government is going to recommend that,” said SMC President Dr. Joe Odenwald. “We decided we would rather give people a little certainty, so that’s why we made that decision. … We are trying to finish out the semester as best we can, and I’m trying to give people as much stability as possible.”

Also Monday, SMC officials announced that SMC’s campuses will continue to be closed physically but operate virtually through at least April 13. Additionally, residence halls are remaining open to residents only, student workers are continuing to be paid through the end of the semester as long as they stay enrolled and “engaged in their courses,” and commencement ceremonies have been postponed until late summer. Odenwald said while he cannot set a specific date for graduations yet, he is hoping to give students and families six weeks’ notice.

In March, SMC initially moved to online classes only in the wake of social distancing recommendations to slow the spread of COVID-19. As online courses are now continuing through the end of the semester, Odenwald said he is not recommending that classes move to a pass/fail system. However, teachers can give out incompletes to students who may face significant challenges with online learning, he added. 

In addition to classes, other SMC resources have moved to a virtual format, including tutoring and advising. Soon, SMC will also begin doing virtual orientation with incoming students, and Odenwald said he would be hosting a Zoom meeting with students who will be starting classes in the fall.

Despite the move to virtual learning and other changes SMC has faced as a result of COVID-19, Odenwald said he has been impressed and inspired by his staff and students.

“Every day, I am just amazed at how quickly they adopted these methods,” he said. “We’ve been forced to do things that, three weeks ago, we never thought we could do. … Our biggest concern is keeping students engaged, and so far, we have been hearing good things and seeing engagement.”

With the decision made to keep learning virtual for the remainder of the spring semester, the next choices on Odenwald’s plate will regard the summer semesters. With students already enrolled, Odenwald said “there is no question” that summer classes will take place. However, how they will take place — whether entirely traditionally, fully virtually or some combination of the two — has yet to be seen. He expects that decision to be made within the next few weeks.

No matter what decision the administration makes regarding the summer semesters, Odenwald said he believes SMC will emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic as strong as ever.

“I try to turn every challenge into an opportunity,” he said. “I think we are going to be a lot stronger because of what we are able to do now. We are all going to be different, and we will be able to do what we normally do better.”