Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria cautioning students to stay in school

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - With classes moved online during the coronavirus pandemic, Allan Hancock College is urging students to finish out the semester.

Allan Hancock College, among many other schools, is concerned the change could lead to more students dropping out nationwide.

When it comes to dropping out, even just for the rest of the semester, Allan Hancock College President Kevin Walthers, Ph.D. has one message: "Don't do it."

The college sent a letter out to students with to advise them that staying in class is important to their future.

Hancock is not seeing an increase in dropped classes, but sent the letter as a precautionary measure.

The students are about halfway through their semester with eight weeks left to go.

Their classes will be remote for the remainder of the semester if nothing changes, and most if not all classes will be remote for summer.

Waltehrs said going to class is not just important for their future careers, it's also important for their mental health.

"I'm hoping that what they will see after the first week is that their classes provide a little bit of normalcy," he said. "They know that four or five times a week they've got a class to go to."

Hancock college is now providing student services virtually. These include counseling and services for low income or single parent students.

They also have an emergency fund to help students financially, plus a food share program.

Walthers also said that finishing their education now is more important than ever, considering the nation is facing an economic downturn during the coronavirus pandemic.