Bakersfield college hosted a virtual seminar on April 20, about the students’ perspectives of transitioning back to in-person learning.  A lot of the students said they are very happy about having the opportunity to get back face to face learning. 

The director of student life, Dr. Nicky Damania explained the percentage of students that faced challenges with the online support services. Damania said the difficulty of paying attention to online services and activities is a little bit better than they were in June. In June 2020 there was 48% of difficulty to pay attention to online services and activities and in March 2021 it’s down to 37%.  

The majority of all categories went down from June 2020 to March 2021 except for one; the lack of interaction and connection with other students. The presentation showed that there was a 31% lack of interaction in connection with students in June 2020 and in March 2021 that went up 1%. The slideshow showed a few different categories that had changed from June 2020 to March 2021. One category that almost stayed the same was ”feeling isolated in an online environment” which went from 33% to 32%. 

The presentation showed “in March 2020, 60% of students indicated they learned better in the on-campus classroom format than in the online format.” Also, Damania said, “ About 20% of our students are still dealing with lack of access to reliable service.” 

Around 70% of the students that internet access is adequate said they learn better in the online format or about the same as in-person learning. Meanwhile, 83% of students that Internet access is inadequate indicate that they learn better in the on-campus face-to-face format and not so much online. Damania stated that looking at the student survey findings “62% indicated they are most likely to re-enroll if courses were taught mostly face-to-face or some face-to-face.” 

Some of the BC mitigation strategies were to wear masks, implement sanitation stations, and conduct temperature checks. Some other strategies mentioned included, COVID-19 testing on campus, providing vaccines to the community, and physical space guidelines in classrooms. 

Throughout the meeting, students were able to share their perspective on the thoughts of reopening campus. Amanda Atkinson, a culinary arts student, shared how the reopening of campus will be beneficial because she’s a visual learner and that it’s hands-on when she’s in the kitchen face to face. “It makes me feel good to know that not only am I being cleared to come on campus but the other students that I am around are cleared to come back on campus,” Atkinson stated.