BREAKING: CSULB to see 47% of courses in-person for fall 2021, anticipates 100% in spring 2022

By: Julia Terbeche and Fernando Haro

Long Beach State will hold roughly 47% of its course sections in person for the fall 2021 semester and anticipates a full return to face-to-face instruction by spring 2022, President Jane Close Conoley announced in a campus-wide email Monday. 

“I’m pleased that this fall we will continue our progress toward ‘Reuniting The Beach,’ offering 4,276 course sections with a full or hybrid in-person component, [or] roughly 47% of the total,” Conoley wrote. Our fall class schedule is subject to change in case any adjustments become necessary,“By spring, we anticipate resuming to 100% of our pre-pandemic, in-person campus course offerings.”

This decision was made under the guidance of public health, Conoley said. Students, faculty and staff visiting the university can expect to see an increase in cleaning of campus facilities as well as social distancing. 

Conoley maintained that the fall class schedule “is subject to change in case any adjustments are necessary.”

In addition to classes returning this coming year, students may look forward to the university library returning to in-person hours along with some on-campus student organizations and programs, including the Student Recreation and Wellness Center. 

“Planning for the fall was done in the context of what we anticipate will continue to be prevailing public health guidance,” Conoley said in the email. “Namely, necessary social distancing and increased cleaning in our facilities.”

Colleges and departments are given priority to select courses to be taught on campus “based on specific needs of their students,” including laboratory classes, activities, performances or smaller freshman or graduate seminars, according to the email. 

Conoley said that the university is considering other methods of instruction including a new format that allows some students to learn face to face while others learn online synchronously, deemed “Hy-Flex,” or asynchronously, known as hybrid. 

Residence halls are also expected to allow the majority of their capacity to be filled, Conoley said. At this time, Hillside College is being renovated and construction of the Parkside North Dormitory remains underway.

“While our return to normal—or perhaps the next normal—is slower than what we all had hoped for,” Conoley said. “The health and safety of our campus community remains our priority.”