MILES CITY, MONTANA: The 2021 Spring Semester at Miles Community College officially begins Wednesday, January 20 as previously scheduled. No changes have been made to the academic calendar and students will see regularly scheduled days for both classes and school breaks, including federal holidays and Spring Break.
Courses will be held in the same manner as the previous fall semester with face-to-face classes on campus, along with online and hybrid class options for specific subjects. MCC will continue to promote safety protocols such as social distancing in classrooms, labs, residence halls, and athletic facilities and will still use extended efforts in cleaning and disinfecting areas around campus.
These protocols will include the continued enforcement of face coverings on campus for the duration of the entire spring semester, despite relaxed and lifted restrictions from local and state officials. Face coverings, which must cover both mouth and nose, must be worn by any person over the age of five who plans to enter indoor MCC facilities.
“Our faculty, staff, and students did a tremendous job following the various procedures and safety protocols that were in place,” MCC President Ron Slinger commented about the previous (fall) semester. “It’s obvious they worked and because of that, MCC will be continuing to follow these same measures this spring. I am excited to build upon the success we had this fall!”
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), which includes the majority of the MCC athletic teams, will also resume this spring, after fall seasons for men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball had been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns. MCC Baseball, Softball, and Rodeo will also compete this spring during their regularly scheduled seasons.
Attendance to MCC athletic events will be limited to ensure proper social distancing and cleaning efforts. MCC athletic events on campus will only be open to enrolled MCC students, the immediate family members of the MCC student athletes competing, and MCC staff/faculty and their immediate families. This supports guidelines placed by the Mon-Dak Athletic Conference, which has put a 25% capacity/200 people in attendance maximum in place. Face coverings will be required and food or drink will not be allowed in indoor locations during these events.
These efforts will continue to be reevaluated as conditions change throughout the region.
“Spring semester will be extremely busy for student athletes and coaches,” says MCC Athletic Director Jerry Olson. “While we are disappointed to have to limit our fans for a while, we are excited to know that the student athletes finally get to compete after almost a year of unknowns and cancelled seasons.”
“MCC recognizes that we play a key role in the community providing education, entertainment, and facilities and rest assured, we are trying to honor these,” commented President Slinger. “We greatly appreciate the tremendous support of the community. We, too, are anxious to get back to a time where we can remove all of these restrictions, but for the time being, they will remain in place for the safety of our students, staff, and community.”
COVID-19 campus updates can be found by visiting the MCC website at www.milescc.edu and clicking the “COVID-19: Response and Impact” link. MCC Athletic information can be found at www.mccpioneers.com.
