ARC’s newest reopening plan brings in-person offerings back to campus
The plan includes limited on-ground student services and offers more in-person classes
Since March 2020, the American River College campus has been empty but with the newest reopening plan, some students can start to return to campus with proof of their COVID-19 vaccination in the fall semester of 2021. (Photo via Unsplash)
Since March 2020, the American River College campus has been shut down and classes have been online. But, now, for the fall 2021 semester, ARC has partially reopened, with more in-person classes and a handful of services that have reopened to assist students.
Student services that are back on the main campus are offered in the Learning Resource Center. Jeff Stephenson, vice president of student services at ARC, explained how these services will assist students.
“With reopening the LRC, students have a place to come during selected hours to access the technology or study,” Stephenson said in an email to the Current. “If students should have questions or need assistance with selected programs, and wish to engage face-to-face, they have that ability.”
Technology access, counseling, tutoring, application help, and enrollment help are a couple of the services that are available in the LRC. These services will have limited in-person hours that are listed on the reopening website. All of these services will also be offered online.
The library building is still closed but the staff has opened a service window for students to pick up books and other materials.
Some of the classes that are taking place on campus this semester are classes that were not able to be converted online in the last year. Examples of these are welding, adaptive PE and commercial music.
Other classes being offered are classes that transitioned online but were harder to do so, such as science classes with labs like biology or chemistry.
According to Frank Kobayashi, ARC’s vice president of instruction, the college has measures in place to keep in-person classes safe.
“The college has instituted COVID-19 mitigation measures including enhanced building ventilation and air filtration systems,” Kobayashi said in an email to the Current. “The College has developed a sanitizing and disinfecting schedule based on the local, county and state agency guidance for sanitizing and disinfecting.”
As part of the reopening of ARC, the Los Rios Community College District Board of Trustees voted to require students who come to campus to show proof of at least their first vaccination dose by Oct. 1, 2021. Students can upload their vaccination status on eservices. Masks are also required regardless of vaccination status.
