As the Citrus community returns to campus for the spring, several in-person classes have been shifted online.
Citrus College has moved 89 spring semester classes from on campus to an online format, Joumana McGowan, the Vice President of Academic Affairs, said in an email on Feb. 17. As of Feb. 22, Citrus College was offering 1,139 total sections this semester.
The decision factored in the ever-present concern of the COVID-19 virus and decreasing trends in enrollment, Superintendent/President Greg Schulz said in a memo to Citrus College faculty on Jan. 27.
Head of the Citrus College COVID-19 Workgroup Robert Sammis said the idea behind the move was to “keep the footprint a little bit smaller” with students on campus. Sammis also said enrollment patterns expressed a desire for online classes.
After two years of predominantly online studies, students have communicated their preference for remote courses at this time.
“I honestly feel nervous for in-person (classes),” theater major Deanna Vazquez said in an email. “It has been so long that doing a class in person feels strange. Also, I am nervous about the spikes of (COVID-19) cases with students attending in person again.”
Dave Brown, an automotive technology professor and the bargaining chair of the Citrus College Faculty Association, said it was clear to faculty that students favored online sections, particularly with general education courses.
Although some classes have shifted from the campus to the computer screen, Citrus is staying steadfast in the return to in-person courses.
Sammis said 63 to 64% of classes remain on campus for the spring semester, even with the movement of some courses to online.
“We want the students back on campus, we’re not an online college, we’re not the University of Phoenix,” Sammis said. “We think we can make it work safely.”
