Colleges return to remote learning

No date given for on-campus return to community colleges



EMPTY CLASSROOMS—Chancellor Greg Gillespie said 10% to 15% of the county community college courses, including several career education classes and science and arts labs, are being held in person. Acorn file photo

EMPTY CLASSROOMS—Chancellor Greg Gillespie said 10% to 15% of the county community college courses, including several career education classes and science and arts labs, are being held in person. Acorn file photo

In an effort to protect the health and safety of the community amidst the latest COVID-19 surge, all three Ventura County Community College District campuses—Morpark, Oxnard and Ventura—began the spring semester online. Remote learning will continue until the case numbers decrease.

Following a wave of the highly contagious Omicron variant, public health officials expect cases to peak during the final week of January.

“We were all disappointed that the shift was needed, and we look forward to conditions improving,” Chancellor Greg Gillespie told the Acorn. “I encourage students to stay engaged with their classes through this ongoing transition.”

Initially, Gillespie said, the district planned to be remote Jan. 10 to 21. The increase in cases prompted the administration to extend the period of remote learning indefinitely .

“Our goal is to transition classes back to the originally scheduled in-person modes once the current high levels of COVID-19 infection decline to pre-surge levels,” Gillespie said.

The district will continue to communicate with Ventura County Public Health to plan for a return to in-person classes.

“I believe our students have come to recognize the uncertainty caused by COVID-19, and that change may be one of our biggest constants as we move forward,” district trustee Stan Mantooth told the Acorn. “This doesn’t mean we have to like it.”

Gillespie said 10% to 15% of courses, including several career education classes and science and arts labs, are being held in person.

The rate of COVID-19 cases across the three campuses is not publicly available. Gillespie told the Acorn, however, that the number of students and staff who have reported symptoms, exposure or positive test results has increased since the end of the last semester.

He said the shift to distance learning will allow those with mild symptoms to still participate in classes, reducing absences.

In August, the district issued a vaccine mandate for all nonexempt community college students and employees who take part in in-person activities either on or off campus.

To access the few in-person classes still being held, or in-person services such as counseling sessions or financial aid appointments, those who have been vaccinated must also verify they have no symptoms and have not been exposed. Those who are exempt must test negative twice each week.

Gillespie said nearly all of the district’s 2,000 staff members are fully vaccinated, and about 14,000 of the district’s 31,000 students have verified their status as fully vaccinated.

Later in the semester, the district will discuss adding the booster shot to the requirement, Gillespie said.

For more information, go to vcccd.edu/COVID19.