Yakima Valley College will bring additional classes and student services back to its campuses during winter and spring quarters, continuing its phase-in of more in-person operations.

For Winter Quarter 2022, YVC President Linda Kaminski said the college’s goal is to offer approximately one-third of classes in either a fully on-campus or hybrid format. During Spring Quarter 2022, the college will aim to offer half of classes either fully on-campus or hybrid.

“Thanks to the many members of the Yakima Valley College community who have taken advantage of COVID vaccines and everyone’s diligence in following campus safety protocols, we’ve successfully begun phasing in more on-site classes and services this fall,” President Kaminski said. “With progress continuing to be made in the Yakima Valley’s vaccination rates, we look forward to carefully phasing in additional in-person classes and student services.”

“This continued phase-in of activities on our Yakima and Grandview campuses is another important step in helping ensure members of the Yakima Valley community can achieve their educational and career goals.”

— President Linda Kaminski

President Kaminski said the college is well-positioned to continue its phase-in of operations on its Grandview and Yakima campuses because of the many safety precautions put in place. The college will continue to require that all students, faculty and staff follow safety measures that include:

  • Wearing masks in common spaces indoors, regardless of vaccination status
  • Maintaining 3-foot social distancing when inside
  • Completing a health screening form before and after every visit to campus

“Welcoming more students to campus in the coming months is an important and positive step for the college and will enable us to better meet the needs of many of our students,” President Kaminski said. “As the same time, we will continue to offer remote options that have proven popular and convenient for students.”

Among the classes that began offering on-site options during the fall quarter were biology, business technology, choir, drama, English Language Acquisition, information technology and visual arts, joining a number of Workforce Education programs that were previously offering on-site labs and clinical activities.

In addition, YVC began offering limited on-site hours for student services including computer lab access, library services and the YVC Bookstore.

“We’ve been pleased that our careful return to more on-site operations this fall has gone well,” President Kaminski said. “Our faculty have been able to offer more hands-on instruction and our safety precautions have proven very effective. This continued phase-in of activities on our Yakima and Grandview campuses is another important step in helping ensure members of the Yakima Valley community can achieve their educational and career goals.”

During fall quarter, the college hosted vaccination clinics on both its Grandview and Yakima campuses, and also hosted a community COVID testing site on its Yakima Campus from late August through December.