Las Positas College is slowly returning to in-person classes.
Kristina Whalen, Vice President of Academic Services, said “We are hopeful that the fall schedule we release in late April/early May will offer options to students as they consider their health and wellness along with their academic progress.”
This summer most of the classes will be virtual, in the fall a mixture of in-person and virtual classes. The plans are subject to change depending on what happens with COVID-19 cases, vaccines and other factors.
The spring semester classes in Emergency Medical Services, Fire Science, Automotive, Computer Science, Engineering, Horticulture, Welding and Science classes offered in-person instruction.
The summer semester is finalized. Most classes will be virtual. The same classes offering in-person instruction in the spring semester will be virtual or hybrid in the summer schedule. In addition, some in-person fitness classes will be offered in outdoor spaces, following the Alameda County guidelines for safe outdoor exercise.
Fall 2021 schedule is still being finalized as The Express goes to press but it is expected that in addition to the spring in-person classes, additional classes in Kinesiology, Theater Arts, Music, Journalism and Media studies, Photography and English as a Second language will be offered at least some classes in person. Class sizes will be lower so the classrooms are not crowded and at less than 50% of the room capacity to allow social distancing.
General Education in-person classes may start returning to campus on either Sept 20 or Oct 15. LPC is planning on offering in-person classes in Mathematics, Political Science and history as 12-week classes starting Sept 20. This is to allow more time to allow for vaccines and to assess the impact of social distancing and masking are having on the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Some fast-track eight-week classes will be offered at the start of the semester. These will be virtual classes. Then later in mid-Oct, it is hoped that additional eight-week fast track classes will be offered as in-person classes.
LPC is determining what facilities’ to open such as the library, tutoring center, computer center and other areas. LPC hopes to as a minimum have study space open for students.
Classes will be designated in Class Web as to Asynchronous, Synchronous, Both Asynchronous, Synchronous or Hybrid. Definitions of those can be found on the LPC website: http://laspositascollege.edu/spring2021/classes.php
On April 6, Gavin Newsom, Governor of California announced that he expected the state to be fully reopened on June 15. Their only restrictions will be mask-wearing and very large gatherings such as conventions and music festivals prohibited. It is unknown if this will have an impact on classes in the fall.
LPC is planning to return to in-person instruction as it is safe to do so.
Alan Lewis is the photo editor of The Express. Follow him @AlanLew89343503.
