The California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office held a Zoom meeting April 14th to discuss how they are attempting to help students and community colleges during COVID-19.

California Community Colleges passed executive orders suspending student withdrawal regulations and followed up with suspending specified grade related regulations in order to make grading policy more flexible. They are allowing colleges to be more flexible with excused withdrawals by not requesting a comprehensive justification and colleges will assume the justification will be from COVID-19.

The chancellor’s office is advocating for federal student assistance and there is an additional stimulus package being worked on currently. Their office has launched a statewide awareness campaign to make sure students know where to find resources so they can stay enrolled and continue their education.

The chancellor’s office expects budget cuts to happen and they will advocate heavily to protect the community colleges in which support programs are essential to the response and recovery of COVID-19. According to Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley, California community colleges train 70% of first respondents in the state and, “it would be a mistake to cut that deeply into community colleges and it would restrict our ability to prepare our workforce.” California community colleges also educate the most vulnerable, meaning the California Community Colleges will work hard to mitigate the budget cuts and keep access to education.

Chancellor Oakley assumes online instruction to continue into spring 2021 and will continue to move courses online. In the case that students are able to go back to campus in the fall, it won’t be the same as before. There may be a social distancing protocol in place and colleges maybe be asked to incorporate hybrid or online instruction into their planning so they are prepared for fall semester. They are also advocating at the federal level to provide funding for colleges to ensure that faculty and students receive more technological support.

Some students are hoping to transfer soon and may worry if UCs and CSUs will accept pass/fail. Those students have little to worry about as UCs and CSUs are working to become more flexible around grades, and working with students who are hoping to transfer soon. 

Sources for those transferring to UCs or CSUs:

https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/hn/documents/ucadmissionscovid19.pdf

https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/he/hn/documents/csuadmissioncovid19impact.pdf