Chancellor Greg Gillespie has announced that after monitoring the status of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic daily and consulting with and reviewing information from local, regional, state, and federal health agencies, Moorpark, Oxnard, Ventura colleges and Ventura College – East Campus will begin transitioning to virtual and alternative instruction for lecture classes beginning the week of March 16 through March 20. Following the week-long transition, lecture classes will move to virtual and alternative instruction beginning March 23. Student services on campuses and other support resources—such as libraries, computer labs, food pantries and admissions and records—will continue to be open and available to students.

“We are initiating the changes to our classes out of an abundance of caution,” said Gillespie, who noted that there are currently no cases of COVID-19 at any VCCCD campus. “We value our students, classified staff and faculty and want to support everyone in their educational and work efforts by maintaining a healthy and safe environment.”

“We made the decision after thorough consultation with Ventura County Public Health, our educational partners in the community, the State Chancellor’s Office, and our academic, classified, and student leadership,” added Board Chair Bernardo M. Perez. “Moving to virtual instruction enables our colleges to continue meeting the educational needs of our students and our community, while implementing a proactive approach that addresses concerns about everyone’s health and well-being.”

Courses that do not readily fit into a virtual format—especially in career education areas and other specialized disciplines—will be excluded from the requirement. At this time, laboratory classes, performing arts courses and activity courses (physical education/kinesiology) will continue as scheduled while implementing social distancing practices. Online courses and dual enrollment classes in the high schools will both continue as usual.

Virtual instruction will continue until April 6, which is VCCCD’s Spring Break. Classes are expected to resume April 13 and continue through the end of the semester. Due to the ever-evolving nature of the COVID-19 pandemic, the district will continue ongoing assessment regarding student instruction.

Effective March 16 through April 13, all public events and other activities expected to draw 250 or more people to any VCCCD campus will be postponed, modified, or canceled. This is in accordance with the latest guidelines from California Department of Public Health on events and gatherings, which recommends increasing social distancing and limiting large events. The decision regarding canceling, modifying or postponing graduation ceremonies for the colleges will be made at a later date.

All interested community members are encouraged to visit VCCCD Alerts for comprehensive campus information and latest updates.

About Ventura County Community College District

The Ventura County Community College District is a member of the 115-campus California Community College system, and serves more than 32,000 students annually. The District’s three colleges—Moorpark, Oxnard, and Ventura—offer programs in general education for degrees and certificates, transfer to four-year colleges and universities, career technical education, and provide opportunities to engage in co-curricular campus activities. For more information, please visit vcccd.edu and on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.