Voluntary Extended Classroom enrollment deadline moved to Sunday
Sarah HiteStudents hoping to switch themselves to extended classroom options voluntarily for the fall semester at the University of Central Oklahoma now have until Sunday at midnight, the university announced Friday.
Beginning July 27, academic departments will begin manually transitioning students in over-filled classes, based on the date of registration. After this is completed, students can enroll in any remaining in-person or extended classroom seats.
This week UCO unveiled its comprehensive reopening plan for the fall semester. Accompanying the new plan was the opening of extended classroom enrollment to accomodate smaller classes for social distancing because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Many in-person classes will also have an extended classroom with virtual seats. Students in this section will join class remotely at the scheduled time via a livestream. There is no additional fee for the extended classroom.
Enrollment is only available to students currently enrolled in the matching in-person class.
If an in-person class was chosen to have an extended classroom environment, students will have received an announcement via email about the course going live.
Students and parents commented on a UCentral Facebook post about the classrooms expressing concern over the process of switching from the in-person to extended option.
The current process includes multiple steps to transition out of in-person classes. Making changes is accessible via students’ enrollment tab on UCONNECT.
The changes to the fall schedule are intended to support the overall health and safety efforts for a safe return to in-person instruction.
Extended classrooms will utilize new technology, including cameras that will track professor movements, to give students the experience of being in class. UCO outfitted over 100 classrooms with the upgraded equipment.
The semester begins Aug. 17. Fall break, originally scheduled for Oct. 15-16 l, is eliminated and classes will continue during this period.
In-person instruction will conclude Nov. 24, prior to Thanksgiving Break, Nov. 25-27. Quiet Week and class activities, Nov. 30-Dec. 4 will be conducted virtually and final exams, Dec. 7-11, will be proctored online.
This schedule is to help mitigate a projected spike in the virus with the onset of cold and flu season, and to help prevent the spread of the virus by reducing the time people are around each other after Thanksgiving travel, according to the UCO COVID-19 webpage.
According to Adrienne Nobles, Vice President for Communications and Public Affairs, the feedback form on the website is actively monitored, and a response to inquiries can be expected within a few business days.
If you have any concerns, comments or questions about COVID-19 and the UCO comprehensive plan or extended classrooms please visit the UCO COVID-19 webpage and submit a form.