CBC classes will continue online learning in the fall

PASCO, Wash.-- Students planning to attend Columbia Basin College during the Summer and Fall quarters will do so on-line, according to a letter that was sent to students Thursday night.

The letter from Dr. Rebekah Woods acknowledges that school officials don't know whether Gov. Jay Inslee's Stay Home, Stay Health order will be lifted when the current order expires on May 4, 2020, but says that life will not return to normal if the order is lifted.

" When we are cleared to return to campus, our return will be slow and measured. We will follow strict social distancing practices as well as implement new protocols for the health and safety of our campus community. Until there is a COVID-19 vaccine available, experts say that such measures are the only way to prevent a resurgence of COVID-19," Dr. Woods says in the email.

The challenge for the community college is that most classrooms on the Pasco campus aren't large enough to accommodate social distancing guidelines. That's a primary reason for the school's decision to continue with distance learning through the end of Fall 2020 quarter.

The letter also confirms that the school will not hold an in-person graduation ceremony at the end of the Spring quarter, but will instead hold a virtual commencement on June 19th.