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Tutoring through Zoom

Each tutor will have a unique meeting ID to host their tutoring hours. As usual, the tutoring schedule will be sent out to students, but the schedule will now also include the meeting ID for each tutor. In addition, the tutoring schedule and the meeting ID for each tutor will be available on the CAAS website . To join a tutoring session, students can access the site/app and click “join a meeting” then enter the meeting ID for the respective tutor; CAAS asks that students at least put their first name in “your name” to help the tutor with introductions. CAAS writing tutors will continue to serve students on a one-on-one basis while our other tutors will continue as a group tutoring model.

Academic Coaching/Student-Athlete Peer Mentoring through Zoom

Each coach/peer mentor will have a unique meeting ID to host their sessions. If a student is already working with a coach/peer mentor, they will reach out the student individually with their meeting ID and determine a specific meeting time.  If students are interested in requesting an academic coach or student-athlete peer mentor, please email caas@poets.whittier.edu.  

More information about academic coaching and student-athlete academic support services are available online. 

CAAS Advising Appointment through Zoom

The professional staff in CAAS will continue to provide support to students through one-on-one meetings. Each CAAS advisor will have a unique meeting ID to host their sessions. If a student is already working with a CAAS Advisor, they will reach out to the student individually with their meeting ID and confirm the specific meeting time. If students are interested in meeting with a CAAS advisor, please email caas@poets.whittier.edu.  More information about resources a CAAS advisor can offer are available online. 

Workshops

All workshops will be posted online and will be available on the scheduled date. There will be no live-stream of the workshop. However, all the resources needed to fully engage in the workshop will be available.

If students have questions, would like to schedule an appointment, or are having issues accessing CAAS services, they can call 562.907.4816 or email caas@poets.whittier.edu.

  • U-Haul is offering 30 days of free self-storage to college students who need to move due to coronavirus. 
  • For a limited time, students can now fly free on Frontier Airlines to nearly 100 destinations. Purchase before March 23, 2020 and one student can fly free for every one-way or round-trip Discount Den Fare purchased on qualifying flights and dates.
  • For the closest food pantry/bank to you, visit Los Angeles Food Bank Pantry Locator. 
  • Every Table is offering meals to EVERYONE. Food distribution for seniors who need food brought to their homes. Food available for students. Food distribution centers that can distribute food to a group of people. If you need 10-10,000 meals, reach out to Every Table at 323.458.6487. For more info, visit their website.
  • Undocumented students can find a resource guide created by the California Immigrant Youth Justice Alliance.
  • For benefits for California employees impacted by COVID-19, visit the Employment Development Department’s website as well as their Frequently Asked Questions.
  • California State Senator Holly J. Mitchell has released a list of resources to assist in employment support, food insecurity, and updates from government entities.
  • St. Francis Center provides meal services, clothing closets, showers/bathroom services, and rental and utility assistance programs (over the phone) for homeless and low-income individuals in Los Angeles. 

Time extensions on exams will be managed by individual professors since all learning will occur remotely. For students who receive extra time on exams, your professors are aware of the fact that you receive this accommodation and will be providing you with extra time.

  • Student Disability Services (SDS) will no longer be proctoring exams and students will not need to turn in a proctor form for the remainder of the semester to receive a time extension on a quiz or test.
  • The nature of how the extra time will be provided will depend on the manner chosen by each professor. SDS has been sending professors emails about the use of Moodle for exams and quizzes.  
  • Contact your professors to determine how they will be providing this accommodation, but please be patient as they are doing their best to adapt their courses for remote learning.
  • If you notice that the time you have been given does not align with the extra time you believe you were supposed to receive, please reach out to your professor, as they alone have access to adjusting the time.

Reduced distraction testing cannot be accommodated by SDS since exams will be administered online. As such, it is a student's responsibility to find an environment that is free of distractions and/or utilize headphones and earplugs to minimize distraction during testing.

Note-taking will continue to be provided to students who receive this accommodation. Continue to utilize dropbox to view the notes your note-taker has uploaded for you. 

  • Students serving as peer note-takers have received communication from SDS that they are expected to take notes, regardless of the method in which lecture material will be presented.
  • Please reach out to SDS if you have any questions that arise either before or during the remote instruction period related to note-taking.

Attendance flexibility has been encouraged for all students since many could experience issues with accessing courses and/or navigating courses online during the transition.

  • Communication with faculty is vital. Please communicate any difficulties or issues that come up while the campus is adjusting to remote learning directly to your professors.  
  • For students who have attendance modification as an approved accommodation, it is still necessary to follow protocol by notifying SDS and faculty regarding any medical condition flare-ups and what steps will be taken to turn in course work in a timely fashion.

Registered students who receive extensions on assignments (if feasible) as an accommodation are still required to reach out to SDS prior to the deadline or reach out to their faculty, if they prefer doing so, in order to determine if an extension on an assignment is feasible and will not fundamentally alter course requirements. As accommodations are not retroactive, extensions on assignments do not cover past assignments.

The ability to record lectures remains an accommodation our approved students can utilize, as long as they have signed our ability to record lectures agreement. 

Students who receive CART (Communication Access Real-time Translation) due to being deaf or hard of hearing will continue to receive this accommodation through remote captioning instead of on-site captioning. We have reached out to the professors of these students to ensure that the remote captioners will be virtually present during lectures.

Please note that we will continue to offer check-in appointments and intake appointments through Zoom, which is an online video communications platform. More information about Zoom can be found online.

If you have any questions about accommodations or would like to register to receive academic accommodations, please do not hesitate to reach out to us by email, disabilityservices@whittier.edu. 

The Economic Crisis Committee is aware of the challenges facing students amid the current pandemic including but not limited to facing eviction and utility shut-off. 

Students who are leasing off-campus housing from a private landlord are encouraged to contact their city hall for information on tenant rights during the pandemic. If you are renting in the City of Whittier, you cannot be evicted for failure to pay rent under a city moratorium on tenant evictions expiring May 30 or until extended by the Governor of California. 

If you are in financial distress, contact the Economic Crisis Committee at fromo@whittier.edu or 562.907.4233.

If you are or know of a foster youth that is staying at a college dorm room that is going to be closed due to the coronavirus, please email info@togetherwerise.org  and they will provide or help you find housing during this transition.

iFoster can provide free cell phones that serve as hot spots to foster youth in California and students that identify as homeless. These phones come with an unlimited data plan and headsets. If you are interested, you can respond to this very short survey and they will coordinate to get the phones to your campuses in as timely a manner as possible. 

One Simple Wish is providing laptops for remote learning if you are in foster care, or ever were, and need a laptop for remote learning. Email info@onesimplewish.org  or visit onesimplewish.org. 

For after-hours medical or psychological advice, the Whittier College RN telephone advice line can be reached at 562.464.4548. For urgent concerns that are non-life threatening, call Campus Safety at 562.907.4211 and ask to be contacted by the on-call counselor.

Helpful Apps

Calm, Breathe2Relax, Headspace, Liberate Meditation, Fabulous, Daylio, Sleep Cycle, Happify

Other resources

  • The Los Angeles Times has compiled a list of labor laws in California
  • Paid Family Leave (FML) is available to workers who must stay home to care for someone who has contracted COVID-19 or is under quarantine.

  • Southern California Edison announced that it is suspending service disconnections for nonpayment and waiving late fees, effective immediately, for residential and business customers impacted by the COVID-19 emergency. 
  • Southern California Gas will not disconnect services to customers who can’t pay bills amid coronavirus outbreak.
  • Charter is offering free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi access for 60 days to households with K-12 and/or college students who do not already have a Spectrum broadband subscription and at any service level up to 100 Mbps. To enroll, call 1-844-488-8395. Installation fees will be waived for new student households. 
  • Verizon will waive late fees and keep residential and small business customers connected if negatively impacted by global crisis.
  • Los Angeles Department of Water & Power is offering payment plans and suspending utility shut off for March.
  • The State of California established a moratorium on evictions, prohibiting landlords from evicting tenants for nonpayment of rent. The City of Whittier has also placed a hold on all evictions. 
  • The Los Angeles Tenants Union is providing support around evictions. Find your local union here. 

Scholarships with Numerous Deadlines or None

  • African American Scholarships and Grants. Site contains numerous awards at various values (mostly high end!); with disparate eligibility criteria. Wide Array of Deadlines.
  • Computer Graphics Scholarship: $1,000 to aspiring 3D Artists, 3D Modelers, CG professionals, Animators, Designers, etc. Process includes creating an account and publishing at least one 3D model there. Awards occur every quarter. No deadline. 
  • Early Childhood Education Scholarships: Numerous scholarships ranging in value from $500 to $20,000 and each with its own eligibility criteria and wide array of deadlines. 
  • Early Childhood Education Scholarships: $500 cash awards for those pursuing careers in early childhood education. Requires a150-200 word essay about a particularly impactful book read in your childhood. Quarterly deadlines. scholarship@topchildrensbooks.org 
  • Opportunity Scholarships: $2,500; requires 3.0 GPA and essay; Quarterly deadlines.
  • Scholarships for Business Majors: Various awards & criteria; array of deadlines. 
  • Scholarships for LGBTQ Students: Various awards & criteria; Array of deadlines. 
  • General: Academic Invest provides a free scholarship search mechanism that can be viewed/sorted by academic field. Awards and criteria vary; wide array of deadlines.
  • Chegg Scholarships is free scholarship search engine; Array of Deadlines used by millions of students nationwide. It regularly lists about 25,000 scholarships that may be reviewed by you, using personalized filters (such as GPA, age, subject, or career field.) 
  • Course Hero Scholarships are numerous, ongoing, and range in value from $1,000 to $10,000, with a variety of searchable categories and a wide array of deadlines.
  • The Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services offers scholarships for DACA students. 

COVID-19 Testing

Free COVID-19 testing is available through the County of Los Angeles. More information can be found here. 

Kaiser Members

If you have Kaiser Permanente (Kaiser) health plan, please refer to the information below to learn how Kaiser is committed to caring for you during this crisis:

No cost for COVID-19 care

To help members get the treatment they need, Kaiser will waive all member out-of-pocket costs for COVID-19 treatment, as of April 1, 2020. Testing and diagnosis continue to be available at no cost. For important details about how Kaiser is helping members impacted by COVID-19, visit kp.org/coronavirus.

And for answers to your general questions about COVID-19, call Kaiser's new member information line at 1.877.813.7297 (TTY 711), between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m., seven days a week.

Get help with self-care using apps and other online tools

Right now, it’s especially important to care for the whole you. Whether you’re looking for help with sleep, stress, or relationships, Kaiser has many digital tools for your mental health and wellness. For mental health advice, call 24/7 at 1.800.900.3277 (TTY 711).

Available at no cost to Kaiser members, the myStrength app offers a personalized program with interactive activities, in-the-moment coping tools, inspirational resources, and community support. And it has new features specifically designed to help you cope with fear or anxiety about the coronavirus. Get started at kp.org/selfcare.

How to get care without leaving your home

Kaiser expects to see more patients showing COVID-19 symptoms in the coming weeks. To make sure you get the high-quality care you need, Kaiser is increasing the availability of e-visits. You simply fill out a short online questionnaire that connects you with care advice usually within 2 hours. This allows you to get great care while staying safe at home. Or to schedule a phone or video visit, sign in to the Kaiser app, visit kp.org, or call 1.833.KP4CARE (1.833.574.2273) (TTY 711).

Kaiser is using technology and other innovations to ease care during this time, including pharmacy drive-throughs at select facilities, prescription mail order, and virtual care. Kaiser has temporarily closed some medical offices to ensure resources are being used where they’re needed most.

The situation is changing quickly, and Kaiser will continue to adjust to be ready to meet the critical health needs members are facing. Check online for the most up-to-date information before seeking in-person care. 

Getting care

Visit kp.org/getcare for all your care options.

Mail-order prescriptions

Most prescriptions can be filled by mail and received within 7 days. You can select shipment notifications in the Kaiser app to track your order. Visit kp.org/pharmacy to get started.

Testing by doctor referral only

If you’re concerned that you or a family member are showing symptoms of COVID-19 or have been exposed, complete an e-visit by visiting kp.org/getcare. COVID-19 tests are only available when medically necessary, so please don’t visit a facility for testing unless a doctor refers you.

Paying for care

If you’re experiencing financial hardship at this time, you may be eligible for additional assistance. Contact Member Services at 1.800.464-.4000 (TTY 711) to learn about financial assistance and payment options.

Maintaining coverage

If you lose your coverage due to a job loss, that is a qualifying life event and there are several ways to stay covered with Kaiser Permanente. To find the right coverage for you, visit kp.org/continue for a personalized recommendation.