Healthcare and Emergency Services Training Are Priority for In-Person Classes
February 26, 2021 – The three colleges of the San Mateo County Community College District – Cañada College, College of San Mateo and Skyline College – will continue to hold courses in online and distance education modalities, as well as provide most student services remotely, through the end of the Fall 2021 semester. Most employees will also continue to work remotely through Fall 2021. The San Mateo County Community College District Board of Trustees formally ratified the decision in their meeting on Feb. 24.
“Nothing is more important than the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff,” said SMCCCD Chancellor Michael Claire. “Even though we all want to get back to our beautiful college campuses, we will do so in a thoughtful and deliberate way. We are optimistic that as vaccines become more widely distributed in the summer and fall we will be able to restore more in-person classes and services to students next year.”
In-person instruction will continue for certain essential infrastructure sectors–healthcare, emergency services, and transportation fields, as well as critical STEM labs in key transfer areas, and to meet licensing requirements for career education programs–in order to train first responders and healthcare workers to address urgent community needs and to provide direct pathways to employment. Due to criteria set by the State that include requirements for social distancing, classroom/lab sanitization procedures, and other health precautions, the number of people at SMCCCD campuses will be kept at a minimum.
The District is receiving $13.3 million in federal Higher Education Emergency Relief (HEERF II) stimulus funding. Of that, almost two-thirds will be distributed directly to students to assist with financial challenges and the remainder will be used to offset costs incurred by the colleges for COVID-related expenses such as technology, health & safety equipment, and training.
The District has launched a number of programs to help students cope with the ongoing crisis. Drive-Up WiFi service is available to help students attend online classes and complete their schoolwork. In a partnership with Second Harvest of Silicon Valley, the District offers free food distribution on Wednesdays at Skyline College, and Fridays at College of San Mateo. To date, the District has distributed more than 2 million pounds of food worth $3.8 million to 50,000 families. The three Colleges are also loaning Chromebooks, WiFi hotspots and other supplies to students. Healthcare and personal counseling services are available via telemedicine free of charge to students.