March 29, 2021

March 29, 2021 – Northland Community & Technical College announced that the college intends to return to in-person instruction and activities for most programs and operations beginning fall semester 2021 with an anticipated lessening of COVID-19 restrictions.

The loosening of these limitations provides greater flexibility in Northland’s approach to serving and supporting students while protecting the health and safety of the entire campus community.

“We are hopeful that fall will be more normal around here, a return to more classes offered in-person, more in-person services, and more activities,” shared Interim President Shannon Jesme. “While we are hopeful, we will continue to follow state and local guidelines to ensure the safety of our students and employees. As the fall semester approaches, we will continue to monitor the situation and update our plans as needed.

Since the pandemic began, Northland has continuously monitored the spread of the coronavirus and implemented protocols and plans based on the guidance of public health experts. The positive trending of the virus transmission and infection rates, wide-reaching vaccine availability and vaccination rates, and continued utilization of many of the College’s health and safety measures makes the return to campus possible.

Northland plans call for a more traditional on-campus experience for students this fall with many classes offering the conventional in-person format. However, many courses and programs will benefit from the continued use of a remote or hyflex, a format that allows students to shift from remote to in-person instruction. In addition, the offering of many student services both in-person and remotely is likely to remain to provide students with more options than ever before.

“At Northland, we had transitioned some of our programs and courses to hyflex delivery prior to the pandemic. However, we will use the lessons we learned during the pandemic and the improved technology we installed to add to the overall learning experience,” explained Brian Huschle, Northland Provost. “This is leading us to make our academic offerings even stronger while meeting the needs of students through flexible instructional options. Our many programs that require hands-on training will continue to provide that training in-person, with fewer restrictions as warranted in the lab and other training settings.”

While optimistic about returning to primarily in-person instruction in the fall, Northland will be prepared to pivot to remote delivery of instruction should conditions warrant. Because of Northland’s previous experience providing remote and hyflex instruction, this type of transition would be mostly seamless.

Jesme credits the hard work of Northland faculty and staff during this unprecedented time. “Because of the outstanding efforts of the entire Northland community in successfully battling the COVID-19 pandemic over the last year, I am confident that we will see a successful return to mostly normal on-campus operations in the fall. Thank you to our students, faculty, and staff for your patience and resiliency during the last year.”