Virus fears force PCC to shift most classes online

March 11, 2020

| By Victoria Ivie and Zoe Ives

Pasadena City College announced that it is converting in-person classes to remote instruction wherever possible as a precaution against the novel coronavirus. The changes are to take effect starting March 18 and are tentatively expected to last through April 20, according to an email sent to campus staff on Tuesday night.

However, PCC is not shutting the campus down. Instruction for the affected classes will use video tools such as Canvas, Zoom and other applications to continue.

While other colleges have closed their campuses for the semester, PCC will remain open for the foreseeable future.

“It’s out of an abundance of caution for the health and safety of our community,” said Alex Boekelheide, special assistant to the superintendent/president. “We’re going to be open as we normally are, it’s just going to be that instruction is taking place in a different way. College facilities will remain open and many operations will continue normally.”

According to Boekelheide, the reason the campus is remaining open is that the school is not responding to an outbreak. There are still no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at PCC.

Boekelheide’s email was also sent out on behalf of Superintendent/President Erika Endrijonas and detailed the updated steps PCC is taking for the prevention of COVID-19. All changes in the following timeline may be revised later as more public health official information becomes available.

“From March 18 through April 20, college events with a projected attendance of more than 100 people will be cancelled or postponed,” Boekelheide said.

PCC sporting events will happen wherever possible without spectators. Scheduled performing arts programs will be postponed until later in the semester.

“No changes will be made to courses that require face-to-face instruction,” Boekelheide said.

Among others, face to face instruction includes performing arts, lab courses and physical education.

Campus services such as the Shatford library, financial aid and counseling offices are also all still open for business.

As reported by the Courier earlier this week, facilities services have been increasing cleaning and sanitization efforts. An increased supply of hand sanitizer, soap and other cleaning products is also being distributed.

For the latest information on the college’s response, students can also check for updates on the PCC website.

About the Author
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Victoria Ivie

Victoria Ivie is the Editor-in-Chief at the Courier. She is majoring in photojournalism and hopes to work as a photojournalist in a major publication where she is able to travel for work. Her photography work can be found in the Courier as well as on instagram at vi.photos.