Southwestern College announced the summer session will be online, according to President Dr. Kindred Murillo through an email. All events have been canceled or postponed until further notice to promote social distancing and the spread of the coronavirus.
SWC discontinued classes on its campuses because of the pandemic on March 15. There are no known cases of the virus currently on campus. SWC was the first community college in San Diego to announce a closure. Faculty were asked to continue spring classes online. Murillo announced the extended closure through an email.
“Now, it is clear that this pandemic and its effects on our communities won’t be going away in a couple of weeks or even a couple of months,” she wrote. “That’s why we’ve moved the rest of our spring semester and summer 2020 instruction to online and alternative formats.”
Murillo said the college would continue to update students via email and social media. She also said all events and ceremonies across the campuses are canceled or postponed through the spring semester, including the Student Awards Ceremony. Scholarships will be unaffected, she said. Administrators will send out a survey to graduating students to receive input on commencement alternatives after spring break.
“We hope to conduct our survey after we return from spring break and ask eligible graduating students if they’d like to proceed with a virtual Commencement or postpone to a later date,” Murillo wrote. “We hope to announce the results by April 10, 2020.”
Student workers will also be paid through the end of the spring semester, Murillo wrote. College employees will continue to work remotely until April 6, when the college will decide who needs to work on-site, while still practicing social distancing.
