Allan Hancock College will resume in-person classes in the fall, with a new Promise Plus program helping to ease the financial burden for all students.
Superintendent/President Kevin Walthers declared, “We’re ready to go in the fall,” and the Board of Trustees voted unanimously on Tuesday to return to in-person classes for the semester starting Aug. 18.
At the recommendation of staff, the board rescinded the emergency declaration on the same day that the state eased various restrictions related to the COVID-19 public health crisis.
“We believe the time is right to be able to tell our students and our potential students that we’re planning for a full return to campus in the fall and they should continue to register for classes even quicker than they have to be ready for those face-to-face classes,” Walthers said.
“I’m delighted we’re at this place and look forward to seeing many, many faces,” board member Hilda Zacarias said.
Hancock has launched the Promise Plus, a program allowing all students who enroll in 12 units or more to receive free tuition for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 academic years. The tuition and fee waiver includes new, continuing and returning students.
“We think this is a great opportunity to show that we’re ready to get back to normal,” Walthers added.
The original Hancock Promise program had limited the free tuition to only students who had graduated from high schools within the district, which includes Santa Maria, Lompoc, Santa Ynez and Cuyama valleys.
Walters said Hancock representatives continue to work with state and Santa Barbara County Public Health officials about details regarding masking and social distancing requirements.
He said he is awaiting leadership from the California Community College Board of Governors regarding vaccination rules.
If COVID-19 case counts rise again, Hancock is prepared to pivot back to remote learning, he added.
Walthers noted that several students spoke out in recent months urging a return to in-person classes.
Students have discussed the difficulty of trying to take online classes with multiple people in the household.
“The reason that we hire full-time faculty is because our students are better served and they can interact in person with our full-time faculty,” Walthers said. “We think it’s the right thing to do for our students and for our community.”
In March, several student leaders urged the board to allow a return to in-person courses, citing the lack of connection with faculty and other issues hampering learning.
“We can be sure to return with all the precautions and safety protocols to keep our students safe, but I do believe in us and in all our efforts to ensure that this can happen safely, and I believe that it will,” said Lennette Espinoza, president of the Associated Student Body Government.
“I think it will continue to go down if we don’t encourage the students to come back and give them back their learning opportunities that they had with in-person opportunities,” said Ana Rosas Pacheco, student trustee.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.