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BENTON HARBOR — Lake Michigan College will delay the start of its spring semester to give students extra time to register for classes and help prevent post-holiday spread of COVID-19.

Classes were originally scheduled to begin Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, and will now begin Tuesday, Jan. 19.

“We want to give new and continuing students time to enjoy the holidays, and get enrolled for the Spring semester,” said LMC President Dr. Trevor Kubatzke. “We know that after Thanksgiving, local COVID-19 rates began to rise, and this new start date allows for employees and students to remain off-campus for an adequate amount of time after holiday travel and family gatherings.”

The delayed start accommodates a rush of new applicants under the new Futures for Frontliners scholarship. So far, more than 200 LMC students have been accepted into the program that offers free tuition to Michiganders who worked in essential industries at the height of the state shutdown. Essential workers in Michigan without a college degree who worked at least half-time in 11 of 13 weeks from April 1 through June 30 are eligible for the scholarship, but the deadline to apply is Dec. 31. To learn more about Futures for Frontliners at LMC, visit lakemichigancollege.edu/frontliners or call (269) 927-6596.

LMC will continue classes through its scheduled spring break of March 1-7, 2021. The college will be open to students but closed to the public.

Registration for the spring 2021 semester is now open.