Hartnell classes will remain online through spring; MPC announces partnership to bridge the digital divide.

Hartnell College students are not headed back into classrooms in the spring, except for a certain portion cleared for in-person training, the Hartnell Community College District announced today, Monday, Sept. 21.

The announcement to continue online instruction through the Spring 2021 semester came first to the college community in a message from Interim Superintendent/President Dr. Raúl Rodríguez, who told students and faculty the decision was made due to the ongoing Covid-19 public health emergency.

The announcement comes about a week and a half after California State University officials announced they were keeping instruction online through the spring semester—including at Cal State Monterey Bay—and a week after officials with the Los Angeles Community College District, the largest in the U.S., announced most of their instruction will remain online.

“As much as we would all like to go back to our previous in-person operations, that is just not possible given all of the constraints and issues caused by Covid-19,” Rodríguez said in a press release.

Exceptions to the decision include specific hands-on skills training in Hartnell’s Nursing and Allied Health programs, as permitted under an order signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

One of the biggest concerns statewide continues access, in that some students  lack access to devices, the internet or both. Hartnell has lent laptops to approximately 800 students, as well as mobile wireless hotspots to about 500 students. Wireless access is available in parking lots on the college’s main campus, its Alisal Campus and adjacent to its King City Education Center.

Monterey Peninsula College officials are currently in talks about plans for the spring semester and may make an announcement this week, according to Kristen Darken, director of communications and marketing.

MPC officials, along with the Abilities Community Alliance (aka Abilities Café) and Stewardship of the Commons, announced a partnership with Comcast that will provide one year of free wifi for up to 2,000 low-income MPC students. The ACA worked with Comcast and the MPC Foundation to negotiate the partnership.

“The digital divide has disproportionately affected disadvantaged groups including the special needs communities and lower income families. We also have a number of areas without WiFi or bad connections that our new project, Rural Internet SErvice (RISE) aims to help,” said Nalini Elkins, executive board member at ACA and co-founder of Stewardship of the Commons.

Comcast will provide qualifying students with two months of free internet service, while MPC will cover an additional ten months. After the year, students have the option of maintaining service for $9.95 per month.