Riverside Community College District Begins to Orchestrate Plan for Returning to Traditional Education

In May, the District convened a Safe Return Taskforce with faculty, staff, students and administrators from Moreno Valley College, Norco College and Riverside City College. The taskforce was charged with developing recommendations for restoring on-site operations while ensuring the safety of students and employees.

The recommendations of the taskforce have been organized into phases and are compliant with the California Resilience Roadmap: Stages 1-4 as well as specific county health department directives. The recommendations also consider the unique environments and educational programs of each college.

The District sought the assistance of Riverside County leadership, so that a number of essential work force led programs could return to face-to-face instruction. Some of the programs include nursing, STEM, and STEM based CTE programs.  

Courses from this past spring semester and the current summer term that required face-to-face labs, skills development, and testing will reconvene for a special session. This will allow students to complete course requirements in the summer and fall.

Currently, the colleges are in Phase A or CA Stage 2 for the summer term that started on June 22 and concludes on July 31. Although the campuses are closed, instruction has continued online. Campus facilities continue to receive thorough cleaning in anticipation of some courses returning to campuses.

For the fall semester, the District is recommending Phase B or CA Accelerated Stage 2. While instruction would remain online, Phase B does offer District and college personnel to return to campus in August to handle essential services that cannot be conducted online.

For the winter term, the District’s Phase C or CA Stages 2 – 3 plan includes continuing most courses online, with some courses that require face-to-face labs, skills development, and testing being offered in a hybrid format. The recommendations will be further developed as the conditions and status of the COVID-19 pandemic are better understood, closer to the term’s start date.

Next year’s spring term anticipates moving into Phase D based on the assumption that the state has reached Stage 3 of the California Resilience Roadmap and providing county health directives allow the reopening of college campuses.

State guidelines of social distancing, personal protection (washing/sanitizing hands, wearing masks and gloves), and thorough cleaning of facilities, will continue to be followed until CA Stage 4 is reached and those guidelines and directives are lifted at the conclusion of the Stay Home Order.

RCCD’s COVID-19 Information web page will be updated with communications and resources. A new SAFE RETURN web page is also accessible with updated recommendations and information as each new term begins.