Montana Tech in Butte will require face masks in every instructional space inside buildings on campus starting Wednesday.

As of fall 2020, more than 2,300 students were enrolled at Montana Tech.

"I think our average class size is like 24 (students)," said Les Cook, chancellor for Montana Tech. "We decided that the right thing to do was to move forward with a mask requirement starting on Wednesday."

At the start of the 2021 fall semester, students returned to campus with masks being voluntary. However, that’s starting to change.

At Montana State University, administrators implemented masks just days after the start of their instruction. We talked with spokesman Michael Becker, who told us why.

"What we had hoped was that students would wear them without being required to, because it was the right thing to do," Becker said. "But when we saw that wasn't reflecting reality, we did make the decision to move toward a requirement in instructional spaces.”

It's a trend we're seeing across the state that is already in place in Missoula and Bozeman.

Now, Butte is the next to require masks indoors on campus.

Cook stated this decision comes from meetings with the health department and Montana University System partners.

"I have had two positive responses from students, and I have two students that were adamantly opposed to the idea of requiring masks in classroom spaces," said Cook. "The evidence is clear, and the science is out there that shows that a way to prevent and mitigate the spread of the virus is by masking up and, once vaccines became available, getting vaccinated."

Cases on campus have been mitigated successfully, Cook said, but as cases across the state continue to rise, college campuses are seeing the same trend.

"There are a number of schools that have moved completely online," said Cook. "I've heard stories of hospitals and health care systems that are being taxed. Now they don't know where to turn, because they don't have enough help, and they don't have enough beds, and they have to turn people away. This is not a good situation for any of us."

Cook reported the new mask requirement is for public safety -- on and off campus.

While the move may be controversial, students, staff and visitors must adhere to the guidelines or face being removed from class.

Follow-up conversations will continue if the problem persists, but it isn’t clear exactly what happens next if students refuse the mandate.

"It's about keeping our campus and our community safe. It's looking out for all of us, as opposed to see your individual self," said Cook. "We want to do all we can to keep our campus safe and healthy but also the community in which all of us reside."