0920_September Comstock's Magazine September 2020 | Page 35

“I was looking
forward to the whole
experience — the dorm
rooms and meeting new
people. I feel it’s already a
financial burden, so when
the school said it was
going to be primarily
online, it just didn’t
seem worth it to me.”
LIAM GRAF
WHITNEY HIGH SCHOOL
2020 GRADUATE
mately 20 percent from the same period
last year; fall enrollment was heavy as
well, with a big spike during the first
few weeks that leveled off with about a
month remaining. The Los Rios Community
College District, which includes
American River College, Cosumnes
River College, Folsom Lake College and
Sacramento City College, also experienced
a substantial increase in demand
for summer and expects fall to be slightly
higher, according to Brian King, the
district’s chancellor (and a member of
Comstock’s Editorial Advisory Board).
Even before the move to remote
learning, both Sierra College and Los
Rios had at least 20 percent of their
courses online, which King believes
gives community colleges an advantage.
“We already had a substantial
number of courses being taught online
before the pandemic,” he says, “so that
made the shift somewhat easier.”
Four-year colleges and universities
are considering a variety of academic
options — from fully online to fully in
person and everything in between —
which continue to shift as public health
information about the coronavirus pan-
September 2020 | comstocksmag.com 35