WKCTC Starts Reopening Campus Today

West Kentucky Community and Technical College, along with other schools in the KCTCS system, have received approval for their plan to begin opening campuses on June 1st.

For now, most faculty and staff will continue to work remotely. All Summer Session 1 classes are online, and registration for Summer 2 and fall classes continues.

College personnel will be returning on a limited basis at WKCTC, and since most summer classes are online, few students will be on campus. Anyone who needs to visit the campus should contact the school to find out what services are available.

"We want to bring our faculty, staff, students, and the public back to campus in the safest way possible while following CDC and state guidelines. That means we need to come back in phases," said WKCTC President Anton Reece. "We look forward to the time when all of our college community is together again, but we want to make sure we do so in the safest and healthiest manner possible."

When the fall term begins on August 17, classes will be offered in a variety of formats. Colleges will offer fully online classes as well as face-to-face classes and some options that are a mixture of both. Face-to-face classes will have a strong online or remote instruction part, so if in-person classes must move online for a while, the transition will be easier for students. The colleges also will offer a variety of scheduling options, including 16-week, 12-week, and 8-week sessions.

"Because we don't have on-campus housing and our class sizes are small, we are a good option for students who may want to stay healthy at home this fall," KCTCS President Jay K. Box said. "Our classes transfer seamlessly to our four-year partners, and we've always been the top provider of workforce training in Kentucky."

WKCTC, the other 15 Kentucky community colleges, and the system office have developed an on-campus operations plan and designated a Healthy at Work Officer to oversee the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff. All employees are required to take online training on health and safety protocols before they are allowed to return to work.

Safety guidelines for all people on campus include temperature self-checks and other health evaluations, social distancing inside and outside of all facilities, required face-covering/mask, and other specific recommendations by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Extensive signage reminding people of safety practices will be placed throughout any open buildings.

WKCTC and KCTCS will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and update college plans based on any changes from the governor's office, the White House, CPE, and the CDC.