Monday, October 10, 2022
Los Angeles Times
Although students were forced into virtual instruction by the COVID-19 emergency in March 2020, they soon found greater flexibility online, much like the U.S. labor force. For a population of students who tend to be older and come from low-income backgrounds, moving online enables them to more easily juggle work, child care and family responsibilities. The high cost of commuting is gone, too. In pre-pandemic fall 2019, 80% of community college classes were fully in person, 15% were fully remote and 5% were hybrid, a mix of online and in-person, according to a state report. Two years later, the numbers were nearly flipped, with 25% of classes in person, 65% remote and 10% hybrid.