President Gribbons hosts virtual town hall

New updates provided in Tuesday’s email from President Gribbons give students information on Canvas, Student Services and free Internet access.

By Savannah Simmons, Opinion Editor 

Valley College's President Gribbons is holding a Virtual Town Hall meeting on Wednesday, March 25 so students can ask questions about the transition to online classes. 

The Virtual Town Hall meeting will be hosted on YouTube at 4 p.m. with Gribbons providing a general update on the current state of affairs. As Valley’s classes return March 30, students can log onto their Canvas accounts to prepare for the switch and watch this video if assistance is needed.

“Here at Valley College, our faculty and staff have been working tirelessly to move our classes and services to remote delivery or online,” said Gribbons in his latest update email sent out to students Tuesday afternoon. 

All classes, with the exception of one class and a portion of a few additional sections, will be moved to the new online format after this week’s spring break. The students in those classes will be informed on their new process by Monday.

Student Services that will be available and information regarding online counseling will be posted on Valley’s website by Friday, March 27. Students who belong to any of Valley’s special programs such as EOPS, Students with Disabilities or Umoja Black Scholars should check their respective web pages under the Student Services tab on Valley’s site for services during this time. 

Library services are still available during the school’s shut down through their website where they are offering 24/7 Live Chat, online textbook resource help and all book due date extensions until June 8. 

Free Internet access is currently available to all students for 60 days through Charter/Spectrum. For more information go to LACCD’s Cornonavirus - For Students page. 

Those students enrolled in late start classes beginning April 13, are able to order textbooks and materials through the Valley Bookstore. 

“I want to express my appreciation for your resilience and flexibility this semester,” Gribbons wrote in his email. “The Coronavirus pandemic certainly required us all to make radical changes quickly to safeguard our communities.”