Welcome Back to In-Person Classes

Nearly two years after the pandemic forced instruction to be offered virtually, CSULB College of Engineering students, faculty, and staff will be returning to campus on Monday, Feb. 7. 

While some graduate classes will be offered online, all undergraduate classes will be held in person for the rest of  the Spring 2022 semester. 

“We look forward to being able to facilitate the vibrant educational experience that students participated in prior to the pandemic—making new friends, getting to know faculty, gaining hands-on experience in labs, and collaborating on projects in student groups,” said Jinny Rhee, Dean of the College of Engineering. 

Antonella Sciortino, Interim Associate Dean of Academic Programs, said because of the pandemic, many freshmen and sophomores haven’t yet been to campus. “They’ve never had the chance to come on campus and experience the campus life—to explore the resources, to meet a friend for lunch, to have a chance to work on projects in the laboratories, or join a student club. We want the students to have those experiences.” 

A substantial number of engineering classes have lab components, and although faculty, with support from Southern California Edison, developed virtual lab kits to use during the pandemic, there is no substitute for hands-on experience with equipment and tools. 

During the pandemic, many seniors struggled to virtually collaborate with team members on Senior Design Projects. That will not be the case for the duration of the Spring semester, when machine shops and student work areas will once again be fully open for project work. 

“Building a prototype in the machine shop is not the same as looking at how it was built by someone else on a video,” said Sciortino. “Looking at a professor operating a machine is very different than operating it yourself.” 

Student organizations will be able to return to their assigned work areas and design and construct projects in-person rather than virtually. Faculty research efforts will also be in full swing. 

Sciortino said the college will use this semester's remaining weeks to survey students, faculty, and staff to evaluate what combination of in-person and online classes makes sense. Some students reported feeling Zoom fatigue from taking all online classes, while other students preferred taking classes online, she said. 

The college will also use the experience gained from converting in-person graduate classes to online to create a process for converting undergraduate classes in the future. Approved graduate classes will be offered as hybrid or online for Spring. 

After initiating alternative instruction in March 2020, the university began offering a combination of in-person and virtual classes in Fall 2021, with adjusted work schedules for faculty and staff. Staff members should consult with their managers to determine in-person work schedules for Spring semester. 

Student support services, such as advising and tutoring, the Writing and Communications Resource Center and professional development workshops, will be offered in hybrid mode in Spring, with a combination of virtual and in-person services. For the latest information on services, visit the Engineering Student Success Center website.