Butler County Community College will offer students four options for taking classes when the fall semester begins Aug. 24.

In presenting the plan to the college's board of trustees Wednesday, Belinda Richardson, vice president for academic affairs, said students will be able to choose face-to-face classes on campus, remote learning, online learning or a blend of face-to-face classes and remote learning.

The fall will include five sessions. A 15-week session begins Aug. 24 with courses delivered through one of the flexible scheduling formats until Nov. 23, when courses transition to remote instruction for the following two weeks. Finals week begins Dec. 7, and examinations will be held remotely.

Four fully online sessions will be offered in the fall, with a 10-week option that begins Sept. 21 and three five-week Fast Tracks that start Aug. 24, Sept. 28 and Nov. 2. Finals in the four online credit sessions will be held online.

Members of BC3's faculty have the option to indicate their preferred teaching format for the fall semester.

Tuition and fees for students from Butler County will remain at $170 per credit. Students from other counties will be charged $270 per credit for face-to-face, remote and blended instruction courses.

Students will be charged an additional $25 per credit for an online course. A $35 lab fee will be charged for certain courses.

The college is finalizing what will be a maximum percentage of face-to-face instruction. Remote learning involves video conferencing, email and other internet-based learning systems. Online learning is entirely web-based using the Blackboard online learning management system, video conferencing and other web-based applications.

The options are intended to let students choose the mode of learning they are most comfortable with during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We're not putting all of our eggs in one basket or another,” said Nick Neupauer, college president.

He said the plan was developed using information from the state departments of health and education, Gov. Tom Wolf, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), deans, faculty and staff.

BC3 closed its campuses to all but essential staff March 11 because of the pandemic began.

The campuses were opened to staff June 1 under the yellow phase of the state reopening plan.

Beginning July 6, campuses will operate under green phase reopening plan guidelines. Access to buildings on BC3's main campus and at additional locations will be open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays. Occupancy within the buildings will be limited according to state guidelines.

Everyone must follow social distancing and face mask wearing requirements and guidelines from the state departments of health and education, and the CDC.

Noncredit face-to-face courses and trainings offered at BC3 by the college's Workforce Development division and clinical trainings for certain health care programs will resume July 6.

The college's noncredit adult literacy program will begin offering instruction in face-to-face, online and hybrid formats July 6, and BC3's noncredit Lifelong Learning division will resume face-to-face courses this fall. Noncredit courses and trainings also will be held under green-phase guidelines. Fire and EMS training will be conducted under the guidance of regulating authorities. Noncredit BC3 courses and trainings offered at locations other than BC3 will operate under the location's requirements.

Summer classes are being conducted remotely with more students than last summer. Summer enrollment increased by 8.19 percent.Early enrollment figures declined 20 percent from last summer, but surged before classes started in May.

The 6,462 credits students signed up for this summer are the most in about 10 years, he said. Neupauer said he hopes fall enrollment will show a similar increase. Fall enrollment was down 31.8 percent recently, but is now 29 percent down from last year.