The new year may have come roaring in with a spike of the Omicron variant, yet Southwestern College continues to be nimble in our response to protect our students and employees.
Because our four-week winter intersession began Jan. 4, and because the majority of our classes were scheduled to be held online, we decided to move all remaining classes and district operations to remote. There are some exceptions to our decision. Our allied health and public safety classes–which have been operating safely in person since June, 2020–are continuing to meet in person. Our college police, grounds, warehouse, mailroom and bookstore continue having an on-campus presence to serve critical operations.
We continue to evaluate how we will conduct business when the full spring semester begins Monday, Jan. 31. We are surveying our students and employees on a range of questions, including whether we should require the booster for those returning to the college and whether we should require N95 masks.
Our college leadership and governing board will review the results of the survey, and along with feedback from our faculty, administrators and classified professionals, we will make a final determination. Possibilities include moving all scheduled in-person classes to online learning for the first three weeks of the semester and/or pushing some of the in-person classes to our second eight-week class schedule.
What will never change is our commitment to our students’ health, well-being and educational success and our employee physical and financial health and well-being.
There are still some exciting announcements for our full spring semester. Continuing students and those students who have missed the last several semesters will be eligible for additional college expenses funding if they are enrolled in the spring 2022 semester. Students enrolled in spring will be eligible to apply for grants of up to $2,500, depending upon the number of credits in which they are enrolled. Full details are available on our webpage at www.swcccd.edu/mailer.
Thanks to federal funding awarded to Southwestern College, the funds can be used for childcare, rent, housing, utility fees, car repairs, cost of books, medical expenses and technology.
We are grateful for these additional resources–and for the innovative thinking of our management and staff–to assist students in achieving their educational, career and personal goals.
District Maps
For the first time in the college’s history, governing board members will be elected to specific districts in which they must live. The first set of three proposed district maps is available for public comment and input. Residents are also encouraged to complete a survey by Sunday, Jan. 23, with their comments on the maps. All the information, and a link to the survey, can be found on the college’s webpage at www.swccd.edu/elections.
Sanchez is president/superintendent of Southwestern College.
