It’s well past time we give you all an update on our return to in-person classes. After surveying applicants who applied to programs starting in Q1 2022 and our staff, we have decided that the full-time programs starting in Q1 2022 will be remote. While there are students who are eagerly anticipating our return to in-person, the unpredictability of COVID-19 continues to slow our ability to return to in-person classes. The one thing we know for sure about COVID-19 is that it is constantly changing and finding new ways to spread, even with vaccines. As a small organization where students work closely together, we can deliver a better student experience when we do not have to worry about COVID-19 spreading among an in-person class and shifting a cohort back and forth between in-person and remote learning.
We still plan to offer in-person programs in the future and are evaluating an in-person start for full-time programs that begin in Q2 2022. It’s crazy to think that our building will have been vacant for 2 years by then – except for the occasional staff member wandering the halls or board game night.
We have also decided that all part-time programs starting in 2022 will be remote. Many of our part-time students and applicants have expressed concerns ranging from commute time to immunocompromised family members and would prefer remote classes. Delaying the return of part-time classes will also give us time to learn from the return of full-time classes so that we can make the necessary adjustments for our part-time classes.
Even once we return to holding some full-time classes in-person, we will continue to offer online options for those who are outside commuting distance to NSS, have health concerns, or prefer a remote learning environment. Additionally, any student in a class that starts online will not be expected to switch to attending in-person, even if we open the building to active classes that started online in the future.
While there are differences between the in-person and remote learning experience at NSS, we’ve proven that remote learning at NSS works. The most recent stats from our Community Impact Report reveal a placement rate of 84% for students across all programs that graduated between July 2020 and June 2021, during the worst of the COVID job market. When you adjust the time frame to allow all graduates at least a six month job search, that number is even higher! Nashville’s tech community is growing every day and the number of new jobs available is growing with it. Now is a great time to start a career in tech in Nashville!