Fridays In June and July are Remote Service Days for ACC

A+poster+from+the+Welcome+Center+at+the+Arapahoe+Community+College.+Taken+June+3%2C+2022.

Image via Angela Merlano

A poster from the Welcome Center at the Arapahoe Community College. Taken June 3, 2022.

Summer school can be a hassle for students and staff alike. Luckily, Arapahoe Community College (ACC) has made Fridays in June and July remote service days to make services easier to access during the dog days.

Classes and activities planned on Fridays will still operate as scheduled at ACC – but services such as advising, admissions, and cashiers will be remote on Fridays for the summer semester.

Vice President of Student Affairs Lisa Matye Edwards sent an email to staff and students containing these updates on June 1. Edwards detailed that, “All services are typically available in person or virtually (online or phone) to accommodate students.”

The concept of virtual services, ranging from Hyflex classrooms to tutoring, originally sprouted during the start of the pandemic.

“What we learned during COVID, is that we can do them both ways,” Edwards said in an interview. “So, advising, career, talking to financial aid, talking to enrollment… an info-session with admissions, tutoring sessions, working with a research librarians… anything that we normally would offer in-person would be available remotely on Fridays.”

The past two summer semesters at ACC have utilized remote service Fridays – not only due to concerns with the pandemic, but with school closures over the summer as well.

These closures are usually caused by staff meetings off-campus for the Colorado Community College System (CCCS), leading to the intuition of general remote servicing.

“It made sense, it’s our least traffic day… the café doesn’t open on Fridays,” Edwards explained. With Friday being a remote day, it cleared up busy schedules and made the summer semester accessible to staff on vacation.

“It’s something people can count on,” she said. “I think it reminds people too that services can be remote… you don’t have to come to campus if that’s not convenient for you, as a student.”

Edwards hopes that it reminds students of flexible resources and availability, as well as the seamless operations that work at ACC.

For more information or help, reach out to the dean of students office or visit the department website