Closures Continue In Light of Coronavirus Threats

Santa Monica College’s (SMC) campus was shut down to students on Mon., March 10, as a result of an emergency preparedness day for staff. The day was originally planned as a Flex Day, but became a day to teach professors how to cover their classes to online in case of a campus shut-down due to coronavirus. That shut-down has since been confirmed. Santa Monica, Calif. (Anthony Mayan / The Corsair)

Santa Monica College (SMC) will officially be moving the majority of classes online over the next several days, starting March 18. Classes are cancelled from Friday, March 13 through Tuesday, March 17 to prepare for the transition. Student Services, computer labs, the library, and other resources will remain open. Courses that require in-person instruction — such as physical education courses and lab sciences — will continue to meet.

SMC sent out a survey this afternoon (WED) asking students about their accessibility to technology and internet sources, in an effort to gauge how prepared students would be to access classes remotely if needed. The deadline listed was March 12, 2020.

However, a few hours after the email was sent, institution officials declared that classes will indeed be brought online over the next few days.

Students can expect to receive emails from faculty members about the updated modality of their courses.

This all comes on the same day that L.A. County announced the first death related to coronavirus in the area, as well as six additional cases. This brings the total number of cases within the county to 28.

The Los Angeles Community College District (LACC) also announced today — March 11 — that they will be shifting classes online due to worries about the spread of coronavirus. Online instruction will begin Wed., March 18, for nine Los Angeles colleges in the LACC District, including Pierce College and Los Angeles City College.