College Update - Health Sciences Programs

An Update from Blackhawk President, Dr. Tracy Pierner

We are nearly a month into this public health crisis. In some ways, it seems like a lifetime ago when Governor Evers issued the “Safer-at-Home” directive. Our world has rapidly changed and it continues to be a fluid situation. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to create any concrete plans for the path forward. Our most immediate concern is how we can successfully complete the Spring semester.

Because of the excellent work of our students, faculty, and staff, many courses moved almost seamlessly to a remote learning environment and many courses will successfully close on schedule by May 11. We know that the programs and courses that require hands-on labs, internships, or clinical experiences are areas where we need to reopen enough to allow students the opportunity to complete their coursework. This is our immediate and continued focus.

Yesterday, the Governor extended the “Safer-at-Home” order until May 26, yet it included the allowance to continue training frontline workers in the health occupations. Therefore, we will be resuming labs/hands-on activities on a very limited basis in selected health-related fields on April 27.  Further directions will come from your instructors.  In addition, plans are being formulated for other programs to restart lab classes as soon as we are able and it is safe to do so. At that time, the College will only be open on a very limited basis to serve those students who need to complete hands-on and lab-based courses. In doing so we will follow strict safety standards and any additional executive orders of the Governor.

At this time, we do know the following:

• Students who need an extension on spring coursework will have until June 12 to complete their work.
• Students who are unable to complete courses by June 12 due to the impacts of COVID-19 will have the option to receive an incomplete (I). An incomplete is an agreement between the student and instructor to allow for the completion of any learning activities.
• Final Spring semester grades are due on June 13. Students will have the ability to select either their letter grade earned, an incomplete (I), or a PASS/FAIL. The PASS grade would be for letter grades of D or above. I want to reiterate that this is the student’s choice, not the instructor’s.
• Several Health Sciences courses will resume labs and hands-on activities beginning the week of April 27. Strict screening and safety protocols will be followed. Health Sciences students should monitor Blackboard and their BTC email for more information from their instructors.

As always, we will continue to monitor the situation under the guidance of local, state and federal guidelines. As the situation changes, we know we may need to make changes to our plans. We will continue to move forward as best we can with the safety of our students, employees, and community as our top consideration.