CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- After months of being out of school and away from campus, students at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte are back in the classroom.  

University officials say 203 students returned to campus at the start of July to finish up culinary labs that were cut short because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The classroom looks different with new safety protocols in place. There are only nine students per class, and everyone is required to wear a mask.

Raymond Zoller, an associate instructor, says the smaller classes are beneficial for students.

“Fewer students, more responsibility. We didn’t dumb down the classes for them to come back,” Zoller says. “The expectations are still the same, the techniques are still the same, the practicals are still the same.”

The summer semester ends August 14, and the fall semester starts August 31.