TCC to Offer Mostly Online Classes for Fall Quarter

Tacoma Community College (TCC) will continue to offer mostly online classes for fall quarter 2021. The decision is part of a plan to gradually re-open the college, achieving full re-opening by spring quarter 2022.

This plan takes into account a number of factors, including:

• TCC’s first priority is the health and safety of our community. Covid-19 cases are not currently declining in Pierce County, which has recently regressed to Phase 2 of the state’s Healthy Washington Re-Opening Plan.

• A Centers for Disease Control (CDC) recommendation requires 6 feet of distance between students in most classrooms. While the requirement has been dropped to 3 feet of distance in the K-12 system, the 6-foot requirement is still in place for higher education. This social distance requirement would greatly impact the number of classes we could offer in person.

The college is using equity-based criteria to decide to which classes to bring back first, as TCC slowly phases in-person instruction. For instance, a class serving a population that historically achieves greater success in classroom-based learning, such as English language learners or pre-college adult learners, may offer in-person sections first.

“Safety and equity have served as our campus compass during this pandemic,” said TCC President Ivan L. Harrell, II, Ph.D. “We have to remain vigilant - and although we have overcome so much, we must remain strong in order to protect ourselves, families and friends.”

TCC is also planning to carefully expand on-campus access to services starting in fall quarter. Examples would include advising, enrollment, tutoring, financial aid, the bookstore, and computer labs in fall quarter. Read more about the TCC Learning Plan that outlines how TCC teaches courses and what courses will be available in-person or in hybrid format.

Current student enrollment for summer and fall starts May 10. Open enrollment for summer and fall starts May 17.