As COVID-19 vaccination numbers continue to rise, many schools and colleges across California have begun the process of re-opening their campuses to students and faculty.
While following public health guidelines, many solutions and methods have been brought up to further ease the transition into in-person classes for the fall and future semesters.
Hybrid classes are one of the possible solutions to help this transition, as they limit and acknowledge the dangers of COVID-19.
Pierce College may be planning the use of hybrid classes, this will hopefully bring up enrollment rates since they have been dropping due to classes no longer being in person.
These classes would consist of alternating days and weeks, where students spend a few days learning on campus, while the rest of the week would be spent learning at home virtually. Its primary goal is to teach classes that require hands-on experience, including science lab classes and sporting activities.
The CDC has advised K-12 schools to follow prevention strategies so they can safely re-open for in-person instruction and keep them open as COVID-19 numbers continue to drop. The health and safety guidelines that have been announced will continue to be in effect as districts such as LAUSD plan to implement hybrid classes.
Since COVID-19 numbers are on the decline and vaccinations are being administered to everyone that is at least 16, it seems likely that opening campuses for the fall semesters will be possible.
San Diego Community College and Los Rios Community College already have announced planned hybrid instruction for the fall semester.
If Pierce College could implement hybrid classes while still primarily using virtual learning, it could ultimately help the process of returning to normal face-to-face instruction.
