Fresno City College students return for Spring semester

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Students and staff back on campus -- a welcome sight for administrators at Fresno City College after the pandemic forced most of the student population to switch to distance learning almost two years.

"If we can continue to maintain the safety protocols that we have in place, do the things that we're supposed to be doing and encourage individuals to get vaccinated, then I think we're going to make it through this without any issues," said VP of Instruction Don Lopez.

With COVID cases surging once again, students and staff are required to wear masks at all times and be vaccinated while new sanitation stations are positioned in classrooms and across campus.

"You saw CSU's and UC's both move for the first couple of weeks of their opening to an online environment. We've decided not to do that at this point, so we've put in a lot of these different protocols," Lopez said.

FCC begins the Spring term with a new schedule of classes that includes a higher number of in-person classes than last semester -- although the campus is operating at less than 60 percent of capacity.

Some students are taking a cautioned approach to the first day of classes amid the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant.

"I was in the Veterans Resource Center and everyone was masked up, there was hand sanitizer. It doesn't seem like there is a shortage of anything," said Robert Kutruff.

For those who prefer to learn from home, Fresno City College will continue to offer online and hybrid classes that can be taken virtually.

"When the pandemic first hit, we started training all of our faculty. We've trained over 800 faculty on how to use our learning management system so they're ready to teach in the virtual environment."