STOCKTON -- San Joaquin Delta College will continue to provide instruction and support services remotely until the public health threat posed by COVID-19 subsides.

The College will extend its stay at home and remote work practice for employees, with the exception of essential operations personnel.

All classes, including labs, have shifted online or to other remote access. At the same time, the College is exploring options to provide students with learning opportunities for hands-on skills acquisition and career education, including early responder programs and those with external accreditation requirements (such as Nursing and Police Academy).

The College had previously hoped for a return to on-campus instruction on April 6. This announcement extends that date indefinitely until the public health risk subsides.

“I know this transition has been difficult for students and staff alike,” said Superintendent/President Dr. Omid Pourzanjani. “Please bear with us. We're working hard to get students access to the technology they need to complete courses, including laptops, and to make services like virtual tutoring available. We will continue to announce progress on these and other initiatives.”

The College has established teams of “success coaches” to help students with this transition to online or remote access courses.

The College is also attempting to address students’ essential needs. On Wednesday, hundreds of bags of food were distributed to students in a drive-through style event in a College parking lot.

In terms of technology, more than 1,000 laptops have been purchased for students and are on their way to the College. The College is finalizing plans to distribute them. More information to students is forthcoming.

All events have been canceled until the public health risk subsides. The College does not expect to be able to hold an in-person Commencement ceremony in late May, and is exploring possible alternative methods to mark this important occasion and celebrate the success of our students. This is a difficult decision to make, but at this time we recommend that families, friends and loved ones cancel any travel plans they might have made to attend Commencement.

“We all hope that the public health situation improves sooner rather than later, but we must prepare for all possibilities,” Dr. Pourzanjani said. “We will continue to consult with public health experts as we assess the risks moving forward.”

Student help is available at deltacollege.edu/were-going-online, where students can learn more about Delta’s online learning tool, Canvas, and also connect directly with their new success coaches. Updates on the overall status of the College will also continue to be provided at deltacollege.edu/coronavirus.