The Western Community College Board of Governors has approved a spring semester calendar revamped because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The new spring calendar starts a week later on January 18 but still ends May 4th as it does away with Spring Break, avoiding the possibility of a post-break spike in cases from students who traveled outside the area.

WNCC President Dr Carmen Simone told the board “we cannot risk having widespread travel during the spring especially as we navigate the complexities of on-campus housing.

Dr. Simone said the new calendar has the same number of instructional days and the same number of contract days. Support staff will still return from semester break on January 4 with faculty coming in on the 11th for in-service days.

The WNCC fall semester switches from in-class to remote learning for finals week, which starts the week after Thanksgiving.