Keegan Knox
With the current pandemic of COVID-19 sweeping through the United States over the last month, The entire CCBC system has shut down their physical
Infographic by Media Studies student, Shannon McAllister
campuses in favor of online instruction.
The initial response was to move up the date of Spring Break from April 6 to March 23. Following the end of Spring Break classes have now resumed in a limited fashion through online-only formats.
All college-wide events are cancelled through April 30, as are community center location classes. All BCPS locations have also closed and moved to online formats. This has all been done to encourage social distancing and halt the potential spread of the virus.
Coursework that is not conducive to online instruction will be handled in a case-by-case basis by the instructor and coordinator of each department. There does not seem to be a set standard across the college, though classes are definitely not cancelled as a general rule.
It should be noted that all of the following quotes were obtained through email or other internet options due to the quarantine.
Marc Ershler, Campus Director at CCBC Essex, had this to say when asked about how long until CCBC opened back up. “CCBC is open – but all classes and operations are being conducted online/remotely. We will reopen the campuses for in-person classes and services when it is determined safe to do so. We do not have a specific date at this time. Overall, the conversion to online seems to be going well. We anticipate some challenges and are working to resolve them as they arise.”
Hope Davis, Director of Media Relations said, “CCBC is having ongoing discussions regarding when we will reopen. The decision will be determined on Governor Hogan’s orders as well as if we feel we can reopen and provide a safe environment for our students, faculty and staff. Everyone should be patient as we’re working through this new, fully-remote learning environment together.”
The current remote learning environment has also affected many clubs throughout CCBC.
Charlotte, President of the Anime Club, had this to say about how the pandemic is affecting her duties. “All the clubs are cancelled and we’ve been able to do sessions over Discord which is still a lot of fun but not quite the same.”
Most of these plans detail up to April 30. It is unknown whether this will last longer as that depends mostly on factors outside of The Community College of Baltimore County’s control.
For more information on CCBC’s response to COVID-19 please visit the website at ccbcmd.edu. If you are having difficulty navigating your online courses contact your instructor first and then the appropriate department coordinators if needed. Contact information should be on each syllabus.
https://www.ccbcmd.edu/About-CCBC/Policies-and-Procedures/Coronavirus.aspx
I feel very fortunate to live in Maryland at this time. With the direction of Larry Hogan mandating stay at home orders, masks in public places, I feel like many officials and schools are taking this pandemic quite seriously. Due to the current state of Covid-19 I hope CCBC can reconsider having in person instruction at all during this coming Fall semester.