Butler County Community College began the spring semester Monday using remote and online instruction to help avoid the spread of COVID-19, and will shift to in-person instruction Feb. 8.

BC3 is adhering to plans made in the fall for the spring term, officials confirmed following Wednesday's board of trustees meeting.

The college will continue operating in the modified yellow phase through Feb. 5. The state hasn't announced the phase that will be in place when in-person classes resume.

Staff levels are limited to 50% in the modified yellow phase, which BC3 has been in since Nov. 30 and has resulted in a low number of positive COVID cases, said Nick Neupauer, BC3 president.

He told trustees that there were eight active cases as of Wednesday. Seven of those cases are among faculty or staff at the main campus in Butler Township and the other case was a remote learning student.

The modified yellow phase calls for mandatory temperature screenings for employees, students and visitors at all BC3 campuses. People with a temperature at or above 100.4 degrees will not be permitted to enter any facility. All employees, students and visitors must enter buildings at designated entrances, sign in upon arrival and adhere to physical distancing guidelines and other current statewide orders, such as the use of face coverings.

BC3 is expecting to learn soon how much money it will receive in the new round of federal COVID relief funding from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021. “We've literally been told any day now,” Neupauer said after the meeting.

He told trustees that he heard the amount the college will receive is higher than the amount it received from last year's Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and that community colleges are lobbying Gov. Tom Wolf for additional CRRSA money.

The college received $941,416 in CARES Act funding last year and has spent $328,818 of it on personal protective equipment and campus safety efforts.

Spring semester enrollment is down from last year, but Neupauer said the numbers should improve after enrollment numbers in the college in high school program and late starting classes are counted.

Total credits are down by 3,400 from 23,760 last spring to 20,360 this spring, and the total student count is down by 288 from 2,253 to 1,965. The internet class headcount increased by 151 from 880 last spring to 1,031 this spring.

In other business, Neupauer announced a drive-through and walk-through commencement will be held May 19 on the main campus.

Neupauer said donations to the new Caitlyn Kaufman '18 Legacy Nursing Scholarship have reached a total of $20,000. The endowed scholarship for nursing students was created in memory of Kaufman, 26, a 2018 graduate of the college's nursing program who was killed in December while driving to work at a Nashville hospital.“My goal is to make sure her legacy lives on,” Neupauer said.A new annual and endowed scholarship was created by money donated by the disbanded Highfield Youth Baseball organization. The annual Highfield Youth Baseball Nursing Scholarship will be awarded to a nursing student who is also a single parent.The endowed Alyssa R. Blakley '13 Highfield Youth Baseball Scholarship was established in memory of Alyssa Renee Blakley, who died in 2014 after earning a Medical Assistant Degree from BC3 in 2013. Her family was active in the league. The scholarship will be awarded to a medical assistant or nursing student.The Dale Pinkerton Leadership Scholarship fund has reached $60,600. Pinkerton served as a county commissioner and BC3 trustee. The scholarship is available to students who complete the Butler County Youth Leadership program.