By: Anna Dory
There is a growing number of cases of the COVID-19 in Colorado. Governor Polis has declared a state of emergency. CU and CSU announced that they will be moving all of their classes entirely online. What are Front Range Community Colleges’ plans?
Kyla Antony Dean of Student Affairs said, “There is a strong possibility that our Larimar campus could close,” but information on the topic is in constant development. The deans and other faculty meet daily and sometimes multiple times a day to discuss various plans of action. Including; how should FRCC ensure a clean facility, and inform students about sanitation? What do the plans look li
ke for individual classes and their transition to online? How can we support students who either don’t have access to wifi or do not have access to technology? What will happen to student employees on campus?
In case the school closes down, each faculty member has been instructed to create an individual online plan to suit each of their classes. This transition will become tricky for classes such as welding, anatomy, and many other hands-on courses. If students in one of those classes have any concerns or ideas, share them with your professors.
For students who have limited or no access to wifi and/or technology, facility members are brainstorming some solutions. They are considering keeping various computer labs on campus open to the public. These labs would have a limited number of people allowed and would likely follow rigid sanitation rules, but the details are still being discussed. FRCC deans are also looking into laptop lone out programs.
As for student employees, the Campus is still working out ideas for how to accommodate the various student positions on campus. Kyla Antony said, “We are very aware that some students live paycheck to paycheck, and this could have a severe impact on their lives. We are currently having conversations about how to manage our student employees,” she did not have any specific answers as of yet.
Facilities have doubled up on their regular CDC regulation cleaning. They have also begun stocking classrooms and offices with hand sanitizers and Clorox wipes; they were able to gather a large stock of cleaning supplies before stores began to run low.
Students and staff should expect weekly updates from the college-wide president Andy Dorsey The most recent one was sent out this week over D2L, in the announcement, there is an email listed that students and staff can send their concerns and questions to. FRCC is also currently designing a website that will be live soon, which will be a source for all the latest FRCC and coronavirus news. Students and staff are encouraged to check their student emails for information and updates. News on this topic is developing quickly and changing by the hours, so stay tuned.