Cuesta College will hold most fall classes online due to coronavirus

Cuesta College will offer the majority of its classes online during the fall semester due to the continued spread of coronavirus.

According to a news release Monday evening, all lecture, activity and performance courses will be available online next semester, set to start Aug. 17.

Most labs will also be offered online, except for some “difficult-to-convert labs, activities and performance courses,” according to the release. Those that will be held on-campus will have strict hygiene protocols and safety modifications, the college says.

“Since the shelter-at-home order was enacted on Mar. 16, we have shared one goal ⁠— the safe and quick return to campus,” Cuesta College President Jill Stearns said in a news release. “Our summer face-to-face schedule includes a science lab, CTE courses and athletics courses as tests of our COVID-19 protocols. We had planned a mid-July decision to allow the best opportunity to assess our plans for returning to campus for Fall 2020.”

According to the release, current COVID-19 metrics that indicate California will remain in Stage 2 of the planned reopening phase for an undetermined period played a factor in the decision to offer fall classes remotely.

The school has been holding mostly virtual classes since March, when the coronavirus pandemic prompted a shutdown of much of San Luis Obispo County, including its schools.

A decision on the college’s sports activities and whether they will return this fall is still awaiting a verdict by the California Community College Athletic Association and the Western State Conference on July 17, according to the release.

Community Programs classes will be available online, and events and performing arts will be available via virtual platforms.

Cuesta College will also continue to offer all of its student support services online, including computer check-out, financial aid, food pantry and transfer planning, according to the release.

This story was originally published July 6, 2020 at 6:07 PM.

Kaytlyn Leslie

The Tribune

805-781-7928 (voicemails only)

Kaytlyn Leslie writes about business and development for The San Luis Obispo Tribune. Hailing from Nipomo, she also covers city governments and happenings in San Luis Obispo. She joined The Tribune in 2013 after graduating from Cal Poly with her journalism degree.