News
Luna summer session begins
Luna Community College is pleased to welcome students for the Summer 2020 semester that started Monday, June 8.
This summer session serves up more than 50 classes, all to be offered online or via distance education. Five of the college’s seven academic departments have classes available in which students may enroll.
Registration for Summer 2020 was held over a two-week period, June 1-12, with advisors and staff signing students up via telephone. That was a change from the norm necessitated in part by measures to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus.
The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted colleges and universities across the nation and beyond since the first cases were reported this past winter. Luna has fared well in transitioning many of its classes and services to remote delivery since midway through the Spring 2020 semester, when the campus and satellites were closed to the public.
Ongoing restrictions and precautions have impacted this summer session. A limited number of employees has returned to campus, continuing to follow social distancing protocols. Registration is being conducted via telephone, with advisors assisting students in each department. Course delivery will continue online, and most student services will be available remotely as well. The number of courses offered has been streamlined for the time being.
Should restrictions be relaxed in the weeks ahead, the college hopes to assist students in completing face-to-face classes that were cut short and unable to transition to online delivery this past spring semester.
Luna is prepared to continue remote operations if need be through Fall 2020, although ideally the campus would be fully reopened by then. Much will depend on how well New Mexico is mitigating the spread of COVID-19. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and other state officials have allowed for partial, conditional reopenings of a number of businesses and state facilities in recent weeks, and there is cautious optimism that the state has passed the peak of virus infections.
Administrators presented a proposed three-phase reopening plan to the LCC Board of Trustees at its June 9 meeting. The implementation and timing of each phase would depend in part on the state’s directives and guidelines.