To provide as little of a disruption as possible for students, faculty and staff, College of the Canyons announced Wednesday that the fall 2020 semester will be primarily remote and online.

The college expects to offer more than 1,800 courses, as well as more than 800 courses over the summer.

“The health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and community continue to be of paramount importance,” said College of the Canyons Chancellor Dr. Dianne G. Van Hook.

“As we look ahead to the fall semester, we are working to identify solutions that provide a wide range of opportunities for current students to continue their educations, enable community members to obtain the job skills needed to secure employment, as well as give a new group of students – our future alumni – the chance to join us as we kick off the 2020-2021 academic year on August 24,” Van Hook said.

To that end, approximately seven percent of Career Technical Education will be offered in a hybrid mode, and select labs will be held on campus.

The college’s decision was made after extensive consultation with health experts and collaboration with faculty members, classified staff, Incident Command Staff, and the college’s COVID-19 Task Force.

The college’s strategic and quick action in March to pivot to remote instruction helped COVID-19 from spreading across the college’s two campuses and community.

“We will continue to offer quality online and remote experiences and do so within health guidelines as we mitigate health risks and help to control the spread of coronavirus so that we can all resume education, work, and recreation in the Santa Clarita Valley as soon as it is safe to do so,” Van Hook said.

The college’s operations will continue to be informed by recommendations from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, the California Department of Public Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

For more updates and information, monitor the college’s webpage and social media accounts.