Fresno State ready to return students to in-person learning

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- The buzz is back on the Fresno State campus.

More than 1,000 students have moved into dorms. Monday, they'll join classmates for the return of in-person learning.

"So far, I've had to set up some things, my classes, canvas and just getting started so when school starts, I'm ready for it," says Jose Jimenez.

But students aren't the only ones ready to resume a more normal educational experience.

New University President Saul Jimenez-Sandoval says in keeping with state and county guidelines, professors and students will remain masked indoors, educators are ready to help students regain that spark that may have been missing with remote learning.

"We will try to re-create that experience of what the university experience is all about," Jimenez-Sandoval said. "The university experience is not through a screen. It is not through the computer. It's live. When you are present in the classroom, ideas happen. The energy is felt throughout the classroom."

But Fresno State's class schedule will be a hybrid model with some students continuing to learn online.

"We will have approximately 35% of our classes virtually," Jimenez-Sandoval said.

Over 24,000 students are enrolled -- 3,460 of them, or 14%, are freshmen.

Jimenez-Sandoval is confident the career path of Fresno State students will become clearer as in-person classes resume.