Classes to Begin Remotely

Westmont is working relentlessly to begin the fall semester in person with flexibility and safety concerns for students and faculty as a priority while observing all Santa Barbara County health and COVID-19 guidelines. A plan to repopulate its campus is on hold until further progress is made in slowing the spread of the coronavirus in Santa Barbara County. As it waits for the 14-day decline in reported COVID-19 cases, Westmont will begin the fall semester remotely on August 31 with plans to repopulate the campus on September 28 with state and county approval.

Westmont faculty and staff worked tirelessly over the summer crafting a 150-page planning document that meets or exceeds all of the higher education reopening guidelines presented by the governor’s office on August 7. Santa Barbara County remains on the state’s monitoring list because it has had more than 100 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 residents over the past 14 days. While Westmont is the right size – 1,300 students – to shift and pivot its plans and scenarios to respond to the changing health requirements, other options including outdoor learning and class sizes smaller than 10 students are also great possibilities because of its Montecito location.

Westmont was even featured on ABC’s Good Morning America, which looked at the college’s fall plans, including the installation of Plexiglas throughout the Dining Commons.