At Contra Costa College (CCC), instructors and administrators are working hard this summer to plan the safest way to resume classes for the fall semester and beyond. Faculty and staff are researching best practices and emulating policies of other institutions to ensure student and staff safety.
Given these are unprecedented times, CCC and 4CD District leadership are preparing multiple contingency plans, understanding that things will likely continue to change. To keep up-to-date on the latest guidelines offered by the Contra Costa County Health Department, Contra Costa Community College District Police Chief, Ed Carney, attends all health officer briefings and shares that information with District and College leadership.
Regarding instruction, as of now all lecture classes will be taught remotely and instructors have the option to teach classes in an asynchronous or more “traditional” online format. Asynchronous course materials will be available on Canvas (the district’s online teaching platform) through modules, which include recorded lectures, videos, readings, and discussion boards. Classes taught in a more traditional format will require students to log on at regular times and days to attend lectures through Zoom. Many CCC instructors have been participating in “Becoming an Effective Online Instructor” training, significantly expanding CCC’s roster of trained online instructors.
As a community college, CCC offers many hands-on courses through the Career Training Education (CTE) program that are harder to convert to online. These classes include culinary, automotive, and EMT, as well as some science labs. Given the nature of these classes, attempts are being made to try and keep them as in-person offerings. These departments have been working closely with Buildings & Grounds as well as the Custodial Department to ensure that classrooms are safe for in-person instruction, including complying with social distancing guidelines.
For these courses, space in labs have been marked off in bubbles six feet apart to let students know where to stand, plastic barriers have been installed where appropriate, and face coverings will be required on campus. Instructors have scheduled shifts for students to enter these spaces in order to make sure that there is always enough space in the classroom to operate safely. Lastly, extra cleaning supplies have been ordered to keep campus sanitized. CCC is preparing for the eventual return to campus, even if it’s at a very low capacity.