Cloud County Community College will resume on-campus classes on August 19, and is taking steps to ensure that students, faculty, staff, and the community remain healthy during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
Classes will be delivered both in-person, remotely and in an online format. In-person courses will be both face-to-face and hybrid, with sessions also streamed via Zoom from the classroom. The remote format will include instruction by a remote teacher both synchronously via Zoom, YouTube or another modality and asynchronously. Online courses will be delivered asynchronously in pre-recorded format, with the possibility of some real-time activities.
“In an effort to accommodate for various COVID guidelines, such as social distancing in classrooms and the possibility of students or faculty needing to quarantine during the semester, all classes taught in a face-to-face/hybrid format will also have a Zoom/remote modality component for any student who is enrolled,” said Dr. Todd Leif, dean of Math, Science and Technical Programs. “Individual instructors will provide information to students on how this access will be delivered.”
Students can also reach out to their instructors with any questions they may have.
The last day of on-campus classes will be November 24, before the Thanksgiving break. All courses will then move to an online format from November 30 to December 10. Final exams will also be in an online format and will take place December 7-10.
All classrooms have been reconfigured to maintain six feet of social distancing, and each room also has a sanitation station.
“Our plan is to be flexible in our delivery formats to best accommodate all of our students in any situation,” Leif said.
Students, faculty and staff will be required to wear a mask or face covering when on campus, especially when they are unable to maintain six feet of social distancing. The college will provide reusable masks to all students.
Students, faculty, staff, and visitors will be required to enter through entrance two or three of the college’s main building. Upon entry, there will be an electronic scan to check for elevated temperature. The same procedures will be in place at the Geary County campus, where everyone will enter at the Administration Building.
“We are taking as many precautions as we can to help ensure our students, faculty, staff and visitors remain healthy,” said Interim President Amber Knoettgen. “We have worked diligently this summer with campus task forces, Cloud County Health Center and our local Health Departments to establish protocols to keep our campus safe and healthy.”
In an effort to maintain cleanliness, sanitation stations, which include hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and other cleaning items have been placed throughout Cloud facilities. Electrostatic sanitation equipment will be used nightly to disinfect all high traffic, common and frequented areas.
Tables and chairs in the T-Bird Café have also been rearranged to enforce social distancing and limit the number of people in the cafeteria to 50. The self-service stations have also been eliminated. Students will also have the option of grab-and-go lunch items.
Residence Life occupancy has been reduced from 314 to 271 to help mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19.
“In the event of a positive COVD-19 case in Residence Life, we have designated two buildings for self-isolation and quarantine,” Knoettgen said.