As Valencia College’s fall semester gets past its midway point, Valencia’s Executive Vice President and Provost Kathleen Plinkse has sent out a school-wide email informing students about the upcoming plans for next year’s spring semester.

With COVID-19 forcing the college to go fully online, closing campuses, and preventing face-to-face courses, students had to switch from in-classroom learning to online. Canvas was used to the fullest extent as well as using tools such as the video conferencing program, Zoom.

Valencia will continue the plans they had set in motion back in the summer for the fall semester. Most courses were offered online with a limited number of face-to-face courses offered on campus. A majority of the buildings and offices were also closed, coupled with student facilities, such as the bookstore, libraries, and computer labs. Student services such as advising, the answer center, and tutoring, will continue online.

Going into next year’s spring semester, Valencia plans to follow that blueprint that was laid out with some added tweaks. The college plans to continue online courses while also having a select number of face-to-face courses in specific discipline areas. Some of these discipline areas include: arts and entertainment, biotechnology, culinary arts, engineering, nursing and allied health, and public safety.

“In addition to what Dr. Plinkse communicated in her provost update, I can also tell you that we have increased the number of face-to-face courses in the discipline areas that Dr. Plinkse mentioned and are expanding the number of real-time virtual (RTV) courses,” said Carol Traynor, Valencia College’s Senior Director of Public Relations at Valencia College.

Online courses will be continued to be offered in two forms. Both, traditional online courses in which students can access course materials and lectures at the student’s most convenient time as well as real-time virtual courses — courses that have meetings at designated times.

With next year’s spring semester approaching, returning students can register early as advanced registration begins on Nov. 3.