SAN DIEGO — Monday is the first day of the fall semester for 60,000 community college students in the San Diego area.

The San Diego Community College District says some students are returning to campus for the first time since March 2020 as the district’s colleges – City, Mesa, Miramar – and the College of Continuing Education begin to offer more in-person classes.

Most courses remain fully online with about 25%, including labs, held in person, the district said in a news release.

COVID-19 safety measures are being enforced on campuses with all students and employees required to wear masks when indoors. Students taking in-person classes will be required to provide proof they are vaccinated or present an approved medical clearance.

New this semester, students have new degree pathways and short-term certificate programs to choose from for jobs such as Network Security, Computer Programming, Web Development, Data Management with Python, Aquatics, Online Retail Management, Hybrid and Electric Vehicles and Dental Front Desk Assistant.

The district has also expanded its Ethnic Studies programming following new requirements adopted by the California State University and California Community College systems. The district’s colleges are looking to expand in areas including Black Studies, Chicano Studies and Asian American and Pacific Islander Studies.

SDCCD said registration for fall semester is still open and students can choose from classes with late start dates throughout the term.

Most students do not pay tuition due to state and federal financial aid and more than 4,000 first-time college students are expected to enroll this fall in the tuition-free San Diego Promise program, which is continuing to accept applications from first-time students.