Southern Maine Community College (SMCC) is offering Late Start classes starting at the end of September in an effort to support individuals whose lives have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic or had other commitments at the start of the Fall Semester.
Late Start courses begin on September 28, four weeks later than this year’s Fall Semester start date. The program aims to help people who want to attend SMCC, but couldn’t start on August 31 due to uncertainties of work, child-care and school openings brought on by the coronavirus. It also helps assist students who are experiencing changes in their current educational environment.
“We are offering Late Start classes to serve the needs of our students, families and community during these very different times,” said SMCC President Joe Cassidy. “Our goal is to be affordable and flexible, and Late Start is our way of offering one more option for people who are juggling many schedules.“
In all, the College will offer 16 Late Start classes including Macroeconomics; United States History Before 1877; Introduction to Psychology; Introduction to Sociology; Introduction to Health Sciences; Medical Terminology; Medical Ethics and Law; Intro to Healthcare Professions; Quantitative Reasoning; College Algebra; English Composition; Oral Communications; and Introduction to Literature.
Fifteen of the 16 classes will be “asynchronous,“ meaning students will not attend a live class online, but rather interact with instructors and other students through recorded presentations, discussion boards, group projects, email, cloud documents and other means. The classes provide flexibility that allows students to balance family, work, and school in a way that works for their schedules.
One class will be held online using the Zoom video conferencing platform at scheduled times on designated days.
Those who are interested in simply taking a class can search for Late Start courses online and register by visiting www.smccME.edu/latestart. Those who want to take these courses as part of a degree program will first need to apply and be accepted to the College, and can do so by visiting www.smccME.edu/apply.