On Sept. 1, 2020, the Chabot-Las Positas Community College District, an entity comprised of Chabot and Las Positas Community Colleges, announced it has elected to deliver the majority of spring 2021 courses in an online format. Some courses that are considered essential by the state will take place in hybrid format.
Spring 2021 classes, like those in the fall semester, will entail a mixture of virtual content with scheduled instruction via online meeting platforms.
The continuation of online classes is due to COVID-19. The number of cases is on a downward trend. However, infection rates remain high in colleges. The highest number of cases is present in age groups 18 to 29 with 22.9% of the total cases. Luckily for those infected between 18 and 29, their death rate is relatively low.
Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the nation’s top infectious diseases expert, issued a warning on Sept. 24 that the U.S. should prepare for a difficult few months in the fight against COVID-19 as flu season approaches.
“We need to hunker down and get through this fall and winter because it’s not going to be easy,” Fauci said during a panel discussion with doctors from Harvard Medical School.
Fauci went on to warn against underestimating the pandemic’s destructive potential.
The effects of the pandemic will continue to impact the education students receive at Las Positas and Chabot Community Colleges.
Photography Adjunct Professor Lucciana Caselli said that teaching online is harder than teaching in person. Casselli has stated she misses the engagement from the students as it is harder to get students to interact when online. She also notices a huge disparity between the technology available to different students from computers to Internet connections.
Arts classes like Caselli’s are among those that have a large hands-on component. Those classes suffer most with the lack of in person instruction.
However, to adapt to the climate of the pandemic, many of the student support services have become available online, including: the Computer Center, Online Learning Assistance, Canvas Technical Support, Online Tutoring, Student Services, Student Health Center, Online Counseling, Disabled Students Programs and Services, the Library, the Reading & Writing (RAW) Center and Math Help.
If you are in need of information or resources please visit: http://www.laspositascollege.edu/resourceguide/campus.php
Registration for spring 2021 opens Nov. 1. Classes begin on Jan. 19, 2021.
Alan Lewis is the photo editor of The Express. Follow him @alolewis1.
