Student services available online

Cranium Cafe and Google Voice help guide students with academics

BY JOEY FARRIOLA

Although in-person meetings with counselors and tutotrs are closed due to COVID-19 prevention, a new path is open for Pierce students who are seeking academic help.

The Cranium Café offers virtual tutoring. Transfer Center Director Sunday Salter said that guidance counselors can continue making education plans with students online through the Cranium Café platform.

“They can share their screen, they can take a student to websites with the student watching so they will log in as the counselor,” Salter said. “I have access to all the students’ records, so I would be able to pull that up and do an education plan.”

Students can log in directly from the Cranium Café website by using their Pierce credentials. There, students can schedule appointments with counselors or virtually knock on the doors of faculty who are available at the moment.

Career and Transfer Center mentor Lauren Franco said that the website allows her to keep track of who attends workshops. Despite the occasional technical glitches, she said her live chats have been successful in connecting with students.

“There have been so many changes in such a short period of time that students are taking time to adjust,” Franco said. “I have chatted with some students who are bummed about not being able to walk for graduation and really missing a lot of the in-person interactions.”

Los Angeles Community College District (LACCD)

Chancellor Francisco Rodriguez updated faculty, staff and administrators on the district’s plans in the wake of COVID-19 in an email on Tuesday.

Summer and fall semester

Nearly 95% of classes are online, and the spring 2020 semester will continue to be remote until its scheduled end on June 8.

The summer and fall sessions will be online. Some “hard to convert” courses may be offered in person if health and safety restrictions allow it at any point in the semester.

Commencement

The LACCD Virtual Graduation Planning Committee was formed on April 1. The committee will release their final proposal by May 1 to plan and potentially organize a “virtual recognition” of the graduates. A survey has been sent out to upcoming graduates to gauge their support for a virtual commencement.

COVID-19 cases

LACCD has the following number of self-reported cases regarding staff, faculty and students reported to the Emergency Operations Center as of April 28:

42 self-reported testing positive for COVID-19

22 self-reported symptomatic, but not tested

26 self-reported case of possible exposure

1 fatality (included in the 42 testing positive) Cases are being reported to the information hotline at (213) 221-5112 and by email at coronavirusinfo@laccd.edu.

Financial help pvillifane.roundupnews@gmail.com

LACCD has raised more than $1.5 million to support the basic needs of students. The District will also distribute funds from the CARES Act for direct student assistance as soon as the federal aid is received.