Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

No summer classroom teaching at city colleges, fall is online

Final word July 31

Mesa College - Image by Derek Plank
Mesa College

In late March when Mesa college shut down under the statewide stay-at-home order, there was only one way to close. "We all left campus like the place was on fire," said president Pamela Luster in a live-streamed forum held April 23.

But re-opening is different. There are way more options. The worst is open and shut. "We may have to shift again in the middle of the semester" if there's a spike in cases, she said.

Over 200 students, faculty and staff listened in and offered comments, eager for answers and a return to campus. Anything but the bewildering fog of uncertainty.

(See updated release that came out after story deadline here.)

Sponsored
Sponsored

As colleges look to reopen campuses, it's not all post-coronavirus planning. The possibility of future battles with Covid-19 can't be ignored. Last week, the nine colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District, Santa Monica College, College of the Desert, and two others in Northern California announced that most classes will be held online in the fall.

San Diego's four community colleges, which teach many of the healthcare workforce skills needed during the outbreak – courses not easily taught online – are on the fence.

Constance Carroll, the chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, said last week that they hope to make a final decision about the fall semester "no later than July 31."

Decisions about opening campus for fall classes "are made in conjunction with all the rules that are out there," Dr. Luster told the online gathering. That is, by following county, city, state, and federal rules, along with the advice of experts in their district.

Those rules and guidelines have taken so many twists and turns since the outbreak began, it's hard to read a clear path.

The decision to reopen is made at the local level, not by the overall system, says Christina Jimenez, spokesperson for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

County spokesperson Craig Sturak says the county’s role has not yet been determined. "What will likely happen is the Governor and/or the California Department of Public Health will outline guidance or criteria for colleges and universities. As we have seen with other areas, that could include involving local health departments in planning or reviewing plans."

But it still isn't clear what the county's role will be, he said.

To get around making plans only to have them upended, the district is trying to build in flexibility – the vice president of instruction, deans and chairs "looking at a continuum" that stretches all the way from a happy return to campus "to none of us can be here and we have to be completely online. And everything in between."

All four community college campuses are planning for both on-campus and online options. The district is weighing hybrid classes that would be online but also allow students and teachers to meet in-person, as well as shortening the academic term to 12 weeks.

Ifs and maybes abound. Fall sports are an unknown. Commencement could include inviting students back in 2021 to walk through the ceremony, and an in-person graduation might be possible in December or January – if large venues are allowed then.

Can they modify spaces to be safe? Could they have students in labs, but not as many at the same time? And wearing masks and personal protection gear; is any of that even possible? "We don't know yet."

What is known is that state budget cuts will leave next year's catalog a whole lot thinner. Over 400 classes will be cut. A fall schedule is being planned, and the summer schedule is out, she said.

"Right now we are erring on the side of online for summer."

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Mang Tomas, banana ketchup barred in San Diego

What will happen to Filipino Christmas here?
Next Article

How to make a hit Christmas song

Feeling is key, but money helps too
Mesa College - Image by Derek Plank
Mesa College

In late March when Mesa college shut down under the statewide stay-at-home order, there was only one way to close. "We all left campus like the place was on fire," said president Pamela Luster in a live-streamed forum held April 23.

But re-opening is different. There are way more options. The worst is open and shut. "We may have to shift again in the middle of the semester" if there's a spike in cases, she said.

Over 200 students, faculty and staff listened in and offered comments, eager for answers and a return to campus. Anything but the bewildering fog of uncertainty.

(See updated release that came out after story deadline here.)

Sponsored
Sponsored

As colleges look to reopen campuses, it's not all post-coronavirus planning. The possibility of future battles with Covid-19 can't be ignored. Last week, the nine colleges in the Los Angeles Community College District, Santa Monica College, College of the Desert, and two others in Northern California announced that most classes will be held online in the fall.

San Diego's four community colleges, which teach many of the healthcare workforce skills needed during the outbreak – courses not easily taught online – are on the fence.

Constance Carroll, the chancellor of the San Diego Community College District, said last week that they hope to make a final decision about the fall semester "no later than July 31."

Decisions about opening campus for fall classes "are made in conjunction with all the rules that are out there," Dr. Luster told the online gathering. That is, by following county, city, state, and federal rules, along with the advice of experts in their district.

Those rules and guidelines have taken so many twists and turns since the outbreak began, it's hard to read a clear path.

The decision to reopen is made at the local level, not by the overall system, says Christina Jimenez, spokesperson for the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office.

County spokesperson Craig Sturak says the county’s role has not yet been determined. "What will likely happen is the Governor and/or the California Department of Public Health will outline guidance or criteria for colleges and universities. As we have seen with other areas, that could include involving local health departments in planning or reviewing plans."

But it still isn't clear what the county's role will be, he said.

To get around making plans only to have them upended, the district is trying to build in flexibility – the vice president of instruction, deans and chairs "looking at a continuum" that stretches all the way from a happy return to campus "to none of us can be here and we have to be completely online. And everything in between."

All four community college campuses are planning for both on-campus and online options. The district is weighing hybrid classes that would be online but also allow students and teachers to meet in-person, as well as shortening the academic term to 12 weeks.

Ifs and maybes abound. Fall sports are an unknown. Commencement could include inviting students back in 2021 to walk through the ceremony, and an in-person graduation might be possible in December or January – if large venues are allowed then.

Can they modify spaces to be safe? Could they have students in labs, but not as many at the same time? And wearing masks and personal protection gear; is any of that even possible? "We don't know yet."

What is known is that state budget cuts will leave next year's catalog a whole lot thinner. Over 400 classes will be cut. A fall schedule is being planned, and the summer schedule is out, she said.

"Right now we are erring on the side of online for summer."

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

For nutty pies at Pizza by Aromi in La Mesa

Sicilian cousins add to the Italian goodness they dish out around Lake Murray
Next Article

Will Trump’s Baja resort be built after all?

Long-stalled development sparks art exhibit, gets new life
Comments
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
May 9, 2020
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
May 13, 2020
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader