Long Beach City College and Cal State Long Beach announced plans this week to bring back a limited number of students and departments for in-person classes in the fall after a year of mostly virtual instruction.
CSULB will bring back 4,276 course sections, close to 50% of the total offered, university President Jane Close Conoley said in an email to faculty and staff this week.
Departments at the university are prioritizing classes for on-campus instruction based on the needs of their students. Some are bringing back laboratories, activities or performances, while others are prioritizing smaller seminars for freshman or graduate students, Conoley said.
Also in the fall, the university will welcome back a majority of residence-hall students, resume in-person library hours and offer most student services in person. The campus also anticipates being able to allow some campus gatherings hosted by student organizations, according to Conoley’s email.
“By spring, we anticipate resuming up to 100% of our pre-pandemic, in person campus course offerings,” Conoley said.
LBCC, meanwhile, plans to offer up to 35% of fall semester classes in person. Each class will be capped at 50% capacity, LBCC said in a statement.
“The safety of our campus community is always paramount and guides all of our decisions at Long Beach City College,” LBCC interim Superintendent-President Mike Muñoz said in a statement. “Re-opening will not happen overnight, but we know that we’re closer to returning to campus than ever before with additional classes returning in the fall.”
The fall classes offered on campus will be prioritized based on student or teaching necessity, LBCC said.
The college is also looking into providing some student services in person.
Both LBCC and CSULB suspended all in-person class sessions and campus activities in March 2020 in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19. After cases of the virus spiked in the winter months, the city and region are slowly allowing more businesses and community activities to resume.
The fall semester for CSULB begins Aug. 23, and LBCC students return on Aug. 30.