Plans face-to-face classes in labs and elsewhere where necessary; safety from Covid19 paramount concern

Yavapai Community College President Lisa Rhine has said that she anticipates that the College will deliver 70% of all its  fall 2020 classes remotely or on-line.  The remainder will be delivered in classes that require “hands-on learning, face to face activity, and/or  laboratory work.

She said that the College will ensure that the face-to-face classes it offers  are “safe for everyone.”

You may view her May 27 update on the estimate of face-to-face classes on the very short video clip below.

Says masks may reduce transmission of Covid19 by as much as 90%; wearing a mask is not about “protecting yourself from Covid19, it is about protecting others”

Yavapai Community College president Lisa Rhine outlined the requirements for staff and visitors to the College during the summer during her Wednesday, May 20 update.  Dr. Rhine emphasized the importance of using masks by saying that according to one study, transmission of Covid19 can be reduced by as much as 90% by wearing masks.

Some of the summer mask guidelines at the College, which are based on guidelines issued by the Federal Centers for Disease control,  include the following:

               Employees, students and visitors who have been approved to be on campus will be required to wear a mask when in a Community College building.

               There is no requirement that people wear a mask when outside on Campus but they must maintain good social distancing.

               If working alone in their private office, employees are not required to wear a mask.

               Employees must wear a mask in any shared or common space.

She said that wearing a mask is not about “protecting yourself from Covid19, it is about protecting others.”  According to one study she cited, wearing a mask may reduce the possibility of transmission of Covid19 by as much as 90 percent.

You may view the portion of her May 20 video where she discusses the mask requirements for the Community College below.

Will spend next several weeks with departments on developing a comprehensive plan that will help determine how, when and what to reopen as in-person classes

President Lisa Rhine made it clear in her May 4 video update  to faculty and students that the College will use a wide variety of information and data when deciding when, and if, in-person classes will resume.  She said that the College will rely on data, guidelines provided by the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  (CDC), information from state and local officials and conversations with individual college departments.

She also said that Yavapai Community College will be spending the next several weeks to prepare a plan that may lead to fully reopening in-person classes  at some time in the future.  She noted that she was not aware of any plan from the Arizona Governor’s office to allow for colleges or universities to return to in-person instruction.

You may view a clip of her video update that focuses on in-person class resumption in the video below.

Music, speakers, digital program; link to share commencement with family and friends found at yc.edu/commencement2020

President Lisa Rhine has announced that Yavapai Community College will hold a digital virtual commencement ceremony live for its spring 2020 graduates  on Saturday May 9 at 10 a.m.  It will feature music, speakers, and a digital program.

Students, family, friends and others may view the event by going to the College website at yc.edu/commencement2020.  (By clicking here you will also be taken to that website.)

A photo and video gallery of the graduates is being put together by the College student ambassadors. The gallery will be available on the College commencement website when it is finished.  Graduates may still submit a photo or video at yc.edu/2020ycgrad.

You may view Dr. Rhine’s announcement about commencement in the video clip below.

Will implement whatever safety measures and health protocols are necessary to keep students and employees safe including operating in-person classes at 50%

According to a news story by Maria Polletta and Alison Steinbach, published April 30 in the Arizona Republic, Arizona State University, the University of Arizona and Northern Arizona University all plan to resume in-person classes this fall.

ASU President Michael Crow said he would “implement whatever safety measures and health protocols are necessary to keep students and employees safe” when classes begin August 20.

UA President Robert Robbins said that UA’s in-person classes would operate at 50% capacity so students could distance themselves from each other.

NAU President Rita Cheng, in an email to students, said NAU plans to require physical distancing in all public areas and classrooms. Residential and dining areas will have new health and safety protocols. NAU plans to adopt “state-of-the-art testing and contact tracing” as well as isolation when necessary, Cheng wrote.

President says Community College is in a “very different situation than four-year colleges”

It is clear that as of April 23  Yavapai Community College is not planning to lay-off or furlough any staff or faculty in the near future.  In a video address to the faculty and staff (see below), Dr. Rhine stated that Yavapai Community College is in a “very different situation than four-year colleges” who have announced possible furloughs and lay-offs of staff and faculty in the near future.   She has no plans to follow the lead of those  four-year colleges.

You may view her short but very important statement to staff and faculty below.

Summer session registration set to begin April 6

Yavapai Community College president Dr. Lisa Rhine announced on her Friday, March 27 video update that the College will offer summer session classes online or through remote delivery.  Registration for summer classes begins April 6. 

The College posts it updates at https://www.yc.edu/v6/college-police/covid-19/.

You may view Dr. Rhine’s March 27 message in the short video below.

College has  additional updates at https://www.yc.edu/v6/college-police/covid-19/

Yavapai Community College has issued an updated response to the Covid 19 pandemic on its web site.  Click here to go to the  following web site for daily updates. https://www.yc.edu/v6/college-police/covid-19/

It is recommended that you check its web site daily for updates. What follows below is the update issued March 23 by the College. 

For the health and safety of students, faculty, staff and the college community, Yavapai College has announced that all classes and services will only be offered online for rest of the spring semester (May 10, 2020).

Academic Instruction

• All in-person classes will be online for the rest of the spring semester.
• Many of the college’s classes have already transitioned to a fully online environment and will continue to operate in that capacity.
• For those classes that still have a face-to-face component (i.e. labs, career & technical, activities), options are available. Students need to contact their instructors to determine the option that works best for them.
• Students who have problems accessing computers, or internet services, should contact the answer center at (928) 776-2149.
• All OLLI and Community Education classes are cancelled and offices are closed for the remainder of the semester.
• The Family Enrichment Center is closed for the rest of the spring semester (through May 10, 2020).

Student Services & Campus Operations

• All College student services are operating remotely via video conferencing, phone and email.
• All College facilities are closed to students and the public. The testing center at the Prescott and Verde Campuses will remain open through the end of day Friday, March 27, 2020.

Work from Home

• All College faculty and staff are prohibited from entering College facilities until further notice unless they have approval from their Vice President.
• Employees must telecommute. Please work with your supervisor on a telecommuting work plan.
• Essential college services will function as normal. These services include the Yavapai College Police and facilities personnel.

Events

• All College events are cancelled through the end of the spring semester (May 10, 2020) and public events scheduled at YC locations are cancelled.
• Spring commencement ceremonies are postponed while the College explores options for alternative delivery.

Travel

• Students and employees who have traveled to a country designated as a level 3 by the CDC are asked to stay home for 14 days from their time of exposure as per CDC guidelines.
  • Students staying home should contact their instructors.
  • Employees staying home should contact their supervisor and HR business partner.
• At this time, all college sponsored travel outside of Arizona is suspended until further notice.

If You Are Sick

• If you are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, or are sick in any capacity, stay home and contact your healthcare provider. Students should contact their instructors if they are sick. Employees who are sick should contact their supervisors and their HR business partner.

More Information

• Please communicate calmly and thoroughly through these difficult times. We encourage people to refer to the information on the CDC Website
• Please direct all employee concerns to Human Resources(928) 776-2217
• Please direct all student concerns to the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs at sheldahl@yc.edu(928) 776-2128 .

COVID-19 is an emerging disease and the CDC is still continuing to study its transmissibility and severity to prevent spreading in the United States.

Further updates will be communicated as necessary.

All OLLI and Community Ed classes cancelled for remainder of semester

For the most up-to-date information, please go to the Community College web site by clicking here.

Following is the information the Community College has provided staff, students and the public as of March 22

Academic Instruction

On March 23, face-to-face classes will move to online instruction with few exceptions until at least April 6. All classes will either be 100% online, or will have some online component. For some classes,  face-to-face instruction will still occur periodically. If they have not already, students should receive communication from each of their instructors on the status of their class delivery.

Any instances of face-to-face meetings, including in-person instruction, will practice social distancing protocals and those areas will be cleaned and sanitized frequently.

Per Governor Ducey’s mandate, all physical education classes that require face-to-face meetings and cannot be moved online are cancelled. Please contact your instructor for the status of your class.

All OLLI and Community Education classes are cancelled and offices are closed for the remainder of the semester.

To keep our students safe, the YC FEC will follow the direction of Governor Ducey regarding k-12 closures. Accordingly, the FEC will not be in session until at least 4/10/20

Student Services & Campus Operations

All campuses and centers will remain open, but most buidlings on campuses will be closed beginning March 23. Only designated service and instructional areas will remain open. Please use this page for more information.

Specific services, including student and public services are being monitored on a case-by-case basis. Services will primarily be online, but in some cases will remain open, or will be closed. A listing of services can be found here.

Events

All college events, including student, and public events are being monitored on a case-by-case basis. A listing of events that have been cancelled or postponed can be found here.

Travel

Students and employees who have traveled to a country designated as a level 3 by the CDC are asked to stay home for 14 days from their time of exposure as per CDC guidelines.

Students staying home should contact their instructors.

Employees staying home should contact their supervisor and HR business partner.

At this time, all college sponsored travel outside of Arizona is suspended until further notice.

Work from Home

All non-essential employees should be telecommuting from home unless they have approval to work on campus from their supervisor. If you believe your job cannot be performed from home, please contact your supervisor and human resources business partner.

Supervisors should continue to update plans for the departments on how services will be covered and should share this information with their Vice President regularly.

Working on Campus

If you are working on campus, please practice social distancing. It has been observed that some staff who remain on campus are gathering in clusters and talking with one another.

Even if you are not sick, please use remote communication (phone, zoom, facetime) to communicate with one another or remain 6-8 feet apart.

Avoid contact closer than 6-8 feet, do not gather in groups, avoid face-to-face meetings where possible, sanitize surfaces regularly and often.

If You Are Sick

If you are experiencing any COVID-19 symptoms, or are sick in any capacity, stay home and contact your healthcare provider. Students should contact their instructors if they are sick. Employees who are sick should contact their supervisors and their HR business partner.

More Information

Please communicate calmly and thoroughly through these difficult times. We encourage people to refer to the information on the CDC Website

Please direct all employee concerns to Human Resources (928) 776-2217

Please direct all student concerns to the Associate Vice President of Student Affairs at tania.sheldahl@yc.edu (928) 776-2128 .

COVID-19 is an emerging disease and the CDC is still continuing to study its transmissibility and severity to prevent spreading in the United States.

Further updates will be communicated as necessary.

All student activities and college events will also be postponed during this period

Maricopa Community Colleges have extended the spring break for all in-person classes one week through March 20, 2020.

All student activities and college events will also be postponed during this time period.

Source: https://www.maricopa.edu/coronavirus-2019-nCoV