Roughly 10-15 percent of MCCC’s currently enrolled 6,200 students have returned to campus for classes either full time or in a hybrid format this fall according to the admissions office.
The primary classes being offered include lab sciences, nursing, hospitality, aviation, and funeral services which fits with the official restart plan the college released back in early May.
In fact, “Mercer was the very first higher education institution in the state of New Jersey to submit a comprehensive plan” said President Dr. Wang.
According to John Simone, Assistant Dean of Students and a co-leader of the reopening task force, while enrollment “is about 16 percent down from where it was last year, that is not too bad as other colleges are reporting 30-40 percent down.”
That statistic is also expected to decrease as the college’s ten and seven week courses begin. Simone reports the college anticipated enrollment would be down 15 percent and budgeted accordingly.
In order to survive this deficit Mercer “didn’t cut anything but they did not fill some open positions. If people retired or left the college, we kept their positions open and only hired the positions that were critical to the college” Simone added.
Although some students and faculty reported positive tests for coronavirus over the summer, since the semester has started no students or faculty in the on campus classes have reported symptoms of covid-19.
According to College President Dr. Jianping Wang, “We have a very robust process in place.” The system includes students filling out a symptom tracking form prior to every campus visit.
According to Simone, this has two purposes, “one for contact tracing and also for someone to self evaluate how they are feeling prior to putting others at risk.”
Dr. Wang says, “It is in your best interest to honestly assess yourself and not cover up illnesses or symptoms. Without health, there will be no academic progress. With health everything is possible. A make up class is possible. Retaking a class is possible. Restarting a semester is possible. But if you are dead, nothing is possible.”
In order to increase safety, the college has provided faculty members and students on campus with “medical grade face shields” produced by our own manufacturing department.
In addition to that, MCCC has been taking extra precautions by cleaning the buildings and laboratories regularly after each class with EPA approved disinfectants.
Wang said, “A new minority owned New Jersey based cleaning company is deeply committed to public health and doing a great job. They’re getting good feedback from faculty and staff across the campus compared to the previous cleaning company who was not doing a good job so we terminated their contract.”
Diane Cardona, a second year Biology major, is currently taking classes on campus, she said, “I feel like being on campus gives me the hope of things going back to normal prior to Covid-19. Although I understand we will have to become accustomed to this new normal. I appreciate all of the new implementations in place to ensure cleanliness and safety for both students and staff. But it only makes me question what we have been exposed to in the past prior to these new sanitation measures.”
Similarly, Sophia Boor, a second year Biology major, said “Attending class on campus was difficult to adjust to for the first few days. However, as a science major I am very grateful to be able to attend labs and better understand the material I’m studying. I believe the best part of the college experience is building relationships with professors and other students who are pursuing the same goals. I am thankful that Mercer is still providing a means for me to be able to make those connections.”
Organic Chemistry is one of the classes that was considered Priority 1 for face to face instruction in the Restart Task Force document. It is now following a hybrid format and health precautions are being taken. Classroom students are given their own fume hoods to work in and wear masks, googles, and gloves as well. They attend class in person once every other week for labs but meet weekly over Zoom for lectures.
Professor Tanzini who is teaching multiple sections of Organic Chemistry this fall said, “I’m really happy to have a hybrid course as I think it is very hard to teach labs online especially for organic chemistry.” She added, “I feel very safe in the lab” and credits this to the preparation done by the Task Force.
As for whether or not more face to face classes will be added in the spring, such as the Priority 2 classes from the Restart Task Force plan–which include ones like Public Speaking and Dance- Simone says the task force is being reconvened to and will be “meeting soon” to work out the details of spring instruction.
