Students will have access to personal protection equipment and follow new protocols when classes begin Aug. 17 at Colby Community College. It will be the first time the campus is open to the general student population since CCC abruptly halted face-to-face classes on March 12 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
"Colby Community College is diligently working to ensure that our campus is as safe and as prepared as it can be for the fall semester," said CCC President Dr. Seth Carter. "We continually evaluate our operational plan and make the necessary changes to ensure the safety of our employees, students, and the communities we serve."
Monday, Dr. Carter sent an email to students with a plan that details daily operations as well as procedures for quarantining and isolating for confirmed COVID-19 cases.
The actions CCC has completed or will complete include:
- A modified academic calendar to end face-to-face classes before the Thanksgiving break.
- Installing 145 contactless hand sanitizers campus-wide.
- Installing 55 contactless soap dispensers across campus.
- Providing every face-to-face student and employee with at least five washable cloth masks.
- Providing every employee and student with two bottles of hand sanitizer.
- Providing sanitizing wipes in every classroom and dorm room.
- Providing disposable masks in every classroom.
- The installation of several mobile plexiglass barriers across campus.
- Posting more than 400 signs from the Centers for Disease Control to encourage social distancing, proper hygienic techniques, and other information to reduce the possible transmission of the virus.
- Ordering nine electric-static cleaner dispensers. Every custodian has one for their respective buildings, as well as the fleet director to use for sanitizing buses and vehicles.
- Staggering lunch schedules to reduce the number of students in the cafeteria at one time.
More information on the college's response to the pandemic is available at www.colbycc.edu/covid19.