News stories explain block plan benefits

KGAN and KCRG produced stories about the benefits of the flexibility of Cornell College’s One Course At A Time schedule during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Instead of students quickly transitioning to online learning for several courses, like at a semester school, Cornell students can focus on one class and work closely with one faculty member. 

“Students only have one course that they have to focus on, on a daily basis, which from an online or virtual format is optimal,” President Jonathan Brand told KGAN. “It allows them not to worry about having to juggle or have other distractions.” 

Cornell’s undergraduate students learn on a distinctive block plan schedule, taking One Course At A Time for 18 days before starting the next course.

“People were hopping right into midterms on the semester schedule so they had to turn around and adapt all of their learning to online right before one of the largest exams of the year,” said junior Lindsay Smith to KGAN. “For us, we just started a brand new class. It was an easy adaptation because it was the beginning of something new anyway for us.”