On Tuesday, Sept. 22, the Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD) announced that classes at all three of its campuses will continue remotely past the end of the fall 2020 semester and through the spring 2021 semester.

In announcing the decision, the VCCCD stated it was choosing to prioritize the well-being of its students, staff and faculty while the pandemic is still ongoing.

VCCCD Chancellor Greg Gillespie explained that the decision was announced now, in order to allow time for those affected to make important decisions.

Gillespie stated, “We are alerting students, employees and the community of our actions now to enable everyone to plan for the future.”

This extension means over four more months of remote learning for most students, bringing the total period of mainly remote learning on all three campuses to over a year.

As Gillespie summed up in an email to students, “The California State University system recently announced that their colleges will operate remotely throughout the remainder of the academic year; the University of California system is expected to make a similar announcement. Many community college districts across the state have also announced the continuation of remote instruction… including neighboring Los Angeles Community College District.”

As part of this continuing remoteness, Student Health Centers at all three campuses will continue to operate as they are currently, while libraries should be able to operate almost entirely remotely.

Furthermore, the VCCCD colleges and district office will also start to place protective barriers and social distancing markers where necessary in order to keep students safe, just in case in-person instruction is able to be phased in later in the spring semester.

As a final bright spot, sports fans can still hold out hope though, because while there are no sports this semester, whether or not spring semester sports will take place is still undecided.

VCCCD Board of Trustees Chair Bernardo M. Perez stated that despite the further disruption to the academic year, the board is still committed to the student body.

Perez iterated, “We are committed to helping our students fulfill their educational and career goals.”

For more COVID-19 Ventura County Community College District updates, visit https://www.vcccd.edu/alerts