More than 70 per cent of Mohawk College fall courses to be delivered virtually amid COVID-19

Mohawk College will see more than 70 per cent of its courses delivered remotely and through a virtual module this coming September due to COVID-19.

The college announced its coronavirus contingency plan for the fall semester on Friday, which includes lecture-based programs shifting to online platforms, as well as physical-distancing measures in classrooms and common areas throughout campus.

The roughly 30 per cent of Mohawk courses which require face-to-face learning - such as in-person labs, simulations and assessments - will continue to occur on campus under public health guidelines.

A college spokesperson said about 75 per cent of the contents of those hands-on courses can also be delivered online and remotely.

The plan comes just over a week after Mohawk announced it was anticipating a $50-million decline in revenue and a drop of about 20 per cent in student enrolment due to COVID-19.

Mohawk president Ron McKerlie said the tentative plan, which is subject to change depending on public health's changes to COVID-19 restrictions, provides the college with some much-needed flexibility.

This gives us versatility, and the good thing is we have some history and experience in delivering courses remotely and virtually," McKerlie said. Still, the plan is an adjustment that thrusts the school into uncharted territory, he added.

The problem is that college education is about applied learning, and a lot of the application of that learning is the hands-on nature of it. It's hard to teach welding or skilled trades completely online. You have to have the practical application of those skills."

If the two-metre distancing regulation carries into the fall, the college expects its student lab capacity to only be a quarter to a third" of its typical size.

It would also mean we would have to change food service operations and library operations," McKerlie said, alluding to enforcing a safe distance between students and staff. We wouldn't be able to do athletics and recreation, and there would need to be physical distancing in the halls."

McKerlie said a business restoration group is working with the college to prepare for the host of changes the school anticipates.

Sebastian Bron is a Hamilton-based reporter at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sbron@thespec.com