The campus of Meridian Technology Center is not open to the public due to COVID-19, but the school is committed to finding new ways to provide education and training to district residents.

On-campus short courses will not take place until May 1. At that time, Meridian will assess the situation and make decisions about the delivery of courses. Being optimistic, administers hope classes can resume May 1 in a modified format that will conform with recommendations from the Center for Disease Control.

“The summer catalog has been mailed. Our instructional staff are exploring alternative delivery methods during this time that will allow us to continue to meet our mission to educate, enrich lives and secure economic futures no matter what the situation might be,” said Dr. Douglas Major, Meridian Superintendent/CEO. “We are following the guidance of state and health professionals and will continue to evaluate as we get closer to May.”

With that, Meridian has announced new offerings for personal and professional development short courses for summer 2020.

“We recognize that moving forward, our short course training might look a little different, but we are here to help,” Major added.

New and notable courses for June and July provide options for people whether they want to learn to weld, prepare for real estate licensure exams, become a security guard or train for a career in machining.

In addition to courses planned for the summer, Meridian’s Computer Training Services division has several free webinars that are available for viewing. Topics include Excel, PowerPoint, Google Calendar and Office 365. For access visit meridiantech.edu/computer-training. The Computer Training Services team is also offering a free virtual hotline to help provide possible solutions, answer questions, or even provide virtual training for educators in the Meridian district. Examples of possible topics include Google applications, Office 365 and those applications, screen sharing and capturing options, and more. To reach them, please email cts@meridiantech.edu with information regarding details on the type of training or assistance needed, your availability to do a Google meet or chat, and best time of day to connect.

Meridian continues to offer online training using ed2Go, an online platform that offers online personal and professional development classes, career training programs and certification prep courses. The ed2go courses are led by a qualified instructor and typically take six weeks to complete. The next series of online classes will begin April 14 and again on May 12. New sessions start each month. Explore ed2go’s online course offerings at ed2go.com/meridiantech.

In addition to offering full-time career training for high school and adult students, customized business solutions for local industries, and assistance for budding entrepreneurs, Meridian also serves as a place where district residents can expand their skills and explore their interests.

Each semester Meridian offers hundreds of courses. Many of the professional development courses have classes during both the day and evening hours, while personal enrichment classes meet one or two nights a week. If time is a factor, online training is also available.

Meridian has a new set of classes each spring, summer and fall. For a complete listing of this semester’s courses, visit meridiantech.edu/catalog. Register online at meridiantech.edu/shortcourses. If there is a short-term training course that you would like to see offered at Meridian, contact Titus Lester at titusl@meridiantech.edu or (405) 377-3333.