FRCC President’s Update on COVID–19 

We have been actively monitoring the evolving COVID-19 situation. In the wake of the stay-at-home orders in Denver and Boulder and continued community spread of the virus, I have decided to close our campuses at least temporarily.  Remote access classes and student support services will continue as planned.

Temporary Campus Closure Details

All campuses will close buildings to students tomorrow, March 25, at 4:00 p.m. Campuses will remain closed through April 12, consistent with recent Denver and Boulder stay at home orders.

Why Close Campus

This was a difficult decision, but I believe it is the most responsible and practical choice. 

• We are increasingly worried that keeping campuses open is not socially responsible. There is clear community spread of the virus around all of our campuses.  In addition, we have had several reports of students and staff who have been in close contact with individuals who have tested positive.   If we remained open, we almost certainly would have individuals coming to campus who are contagious and likely do not even know it. 
• With the Denver and Boulder orders, students and staff from those cities cannot come to campus, which means that we would need to consider adjusting classes, especially our hands-on classes, for them.  In addition, it appears increasingly likely that several factors may reduce attendance in the campus classes we had hoped to offer.  Some students will not be able to come because their children are at home, some because they are ill, and some because they live with an at-risk person.  For all these reasons, we would likely have to offer later make-up of classes.  It seems wiser to focus now on developing a good strategy for offering the classes later to all students.
• We have reasonably reliable information that at least one of the counties in our service area is strongly considering stay-at-home orders that would force one of our campuses to close.  Rather than continue to plan for an opening that is increasingly unlikely, we thought it was best to focus on how to support students if we are closed.

Next Steps

For most students, remote access classes will still start on March 30.  For some students in hands-on programs like welding or automotive technology, the closure will mean changes to your program. Your faculty will be in contact with you as soon as possible with more information.

Student Services Remote Access

Many of our services have already moved online. This includes our Pathways Advisors, Financial Aid Advisors, our Registrar’s Office and many more. Please visit our website for contact information regarding individual offices. 

Graduation

College leadership and I also made the decision today to cancel our pinning and graduation ceremonies for this May.  We have reached out to those students who have already applied and RSVP’d to graduate, to help us understand what kind of alternative graduation they prefer. If you have applied to graduate, please check your student email for the survey.

We will announce alternative plans soon.

This has been a challenging time for many of members of the FRCC Community.  We are working hard to identify more resources to support students and will have more information soon.  If you have questions or concerns, please contact us at FRCC.COVID19@frontrange.edu. 

Finally, please make sure to check your student email and our website frequently for the most up to date information.

Sincerely,

Andy Dorsey
President

We know that this has been a challenging two weeks. Our entire college community has been impacted in some way by COVID-19. I want to reassure you that our faculty and staff have been working hard behind the scenes to support you in your academic successes even as we transition to remote delivery of most courses and services.

Preparing for Remote Delivery
Most of your course work will continue remotely for the remainder of the term.

Even though most classes don’t resume until March 30, please check your course D2L sites or your email now. I know many professors are reaching out to help you transition and to answer questions. If you haven’t heard from your professor, please contact them.

We recognize that you may be worried about completion and we are working hard to explore all options and will have information and resources for you soon.

Emergency Assistance for Students (including for laptops)
The FRCC Emergency Student Success Grant Program is available to all current FRCC students. The grant is a one-time assistance during a student's academic pursuits at FRCC. The grant can be applied to laptops (up to $700), vehicle repairs, prescriptions, gas, and other emergency needs. Tuition, fees and books are not covered by the grant. You can apply here today.

Low Cost Internet Access
Comcast is making changes to their Internet Essentials program to support low income students through the coronavirus pandemic. Please see their website for more information.

Campus Hours, Services and Closures
Campuses will limit open hours beginning March 23, 2020. You can find our current campus open hours on our website.

Campus hours may continue to change and we know that there are essential services that you, our students, need. We are assessing your needs, and the needs of our staff, to make decisions daily.

Many of our services have moved online! This includes our Pathways Advisors, Financial Aid Advisors, our Registrar’s Office and many more. Please visit our website for contact information regarding individual offices.

We have not yet made a decision regarding commencement. Once the decision has been made, we will announce that information via your student email account and on our website.

Summer and Fall Class Schedules and Registration
Summer classes are currently proceeding as normal. We recommend that you register for summer courses as usual. We will announce any changes to summer courses as soon as we have more information. The Fall course schedule will be available on March 30, 2020. Priority registration will be available the same day and will open to all students on March 31, 2020.

When it’s time to register, log in to eWOLF and try our new registration platform Navigate. If you need help with Navigate, you can check out these screencasts or schedule an appointment with your Pathways Advisor.

#DoingMyPartCO
We also want to see how you are #DoingMyPartCO to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Tag us @FRCCedu on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and use #DoingMyPartCO to show Colorado that our FRCC community is thriving in this challenging time. 

Please make sure to be checking your student email and our website for the most up to date information. All other questions can be directed to FRCC.COVID19@frontrange.edu.

Sincerely,

Andy Dorsey
President

As the number of COVID-19 cases in the state of Colorado continue to increase, FRCC leadership, in conjunction with the Colorado Community College System, are taking steps to minimize risks to students, staff and faculty and provide a way for students to successfully compete their coursework.

Transition to Remote Teaching and Learning

We are cancelling most classes the week of March 16, 2020 at the Westminster and Boulder County Campuses, and the week of March 23, 2020 at the Larimer Campus. This will allow time for faculty and instructors to transition classes to remote access and work out the details of how we will continue instruction in hands-on programs like welding and machining.

Spring breaks will continue as usual on all campuses; essentially most students on all campuses will now have a two-week spring break.

Important: Online classes will continue as originally scheduled without additional breaks. Some lab classes may continue during the weeks other classes are cancelled. Your instructor will contact you about that.

All of our campus buildings will remain open during this time.

Beginning March 30, 2020, classes on all campuses will resume, mostly using online learning or videoconferencing. Some classes will continue with a combination of remote access and campus-based lab time where social distance can be maintained. (The CDC defines social distance as “remaining out of congregate settings, avoiding mass gatherings and maintaining distance (approximately 6 feet) from others when possible.”)

Your instructor should be reaching out to you with specific plans, but please contact them if you have questions.

We expect that classes will continue with remote access for the remainder of the semester, but will continue to evaluate the spread of the virus.

Clinicals and Internships

Note that scheduled clinicals for health care programs and other off site work may still continue during the weeks that other classes are scheduled. We will update students in affected programs individually.

Concurrent Enrollment

We are still working out the details of what will happen with classes at high school sites. For the moment we are planning to continue those in a face-to-face modality, but we are focusing immediately on alternatives.

Events and Services

Essential campus services will remain open and available to you. This also includes access to computers and computer labs on campus. There will, however, be limits to the number of students able to access any individual computer labs in order to maintain social distance.

Student gatherings and on-site classes will typically be limited to roughly 8 individuals total, who will be asked to maintain a distance of 6 feet apart. There will be some limited exceptions for previously scheduled events. Large events will likely cancelled unless they are able to be held virtually, but we are still evaluating our events policy.

We are still evaluating graduation and will provide more information in the next two weeks.

Student Employees

Student employees should continue to work at your normal work location until further notice. Should any changes arise, your supervisor will communicate with you directly.

Questions and Information

Please continue to stay up to date by visiting the FRCC COVID-19 Updates Website, and check your email and FRCC’s social media channels for information on this constantly evolving situation. Should you have any additional questions, please email us at FRCC.COVID19@frontrange.edu. We will be monitoring that address to answer any questions.

This a challenging time for all of us. I appreciate your patience and cooperation as we find the right balance of reducing risk and allowing all of you to have a successful semester. I know that there are still issues we have not yet addressed, so please do not hesitate to share your questions or concerns.

Sincerely,

Andy Dorsey
President

We continue to monitor the status of the novel Coronavirus. As you probably know, there are now fifteen presumed cases in Colorado and a growing number of cases nationwide.  You can see updates on the situation in Colorado from the Department of Public Health.

You may also know that Governor Polis has declared a state of emergency. That declaration does not directly impact the college, nor does it necessarily forecast what will happen to the virus in Colorado. It does give the state some ability to respond if the situation worsens.

The FRCC leadership teams are meeting almost daily to review the latest developments and make contingency plans. We are also adding a new COVID 19 page to our web site, http://frontrange.edu. It should be live later today. If you have questions about COVID 19 and our response, you can email us at FRCC.covid19@frontrange.edu.

Our cleaning crews are taking extra steps to disinfect high touch areas, following the Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines.

Instructional leaders and faculty are refining our plans to deliver instruction online, through videoconference or other methods in the event we need to limit classes on campus. While I hope that we can sustain normal campus operations, we are also making sure we are prepared if we cannot.

You can help. If you are sick for any reason, or if you have been in contact with a person who has tested positive for COVID-19, please don’t come to campus. If you are concerned you have COVID-19, please see the following link:  https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/downloads/sick-with-2019-nCoV-fact-sheet.pdf. If you do test positive for the virus, please let the college know ASAP. You can contact your faculty or email us at FRCC.covid19@frontrange.edu.

On campus, please continue to promote good health. While hand sanitizers are a convenient option, good handwashing hygiene is still among the best ways to help prevent the spread of germs and viruses. This is especially true for COVID-19 given our best information on how it is transmitted. For more information on handwashing, visit CDC’s handwashing-website: www.cdc.gov/handwashing. In addition to handwashing, please be sure to follow these other everyday actions that will help to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses:

• Avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth with unwashed hands
• Avoid close contact with people who are sick
• Stay home when you are sick
• Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash
• Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces.

Finally, with spring break coming up, please be mindful of travel. We strongly discourage travel to countries listed by the as High Warning Countries by the Center for Disease Control. Note that if you are travelling to a high warning country the CDC is requiring you to self-quarantine. Countries that are not high warning now could become so while you are travelling, so please consider carefully your travel plan. Even if you  believe you are personally unlikely to become sick, please remember that you can transmit the virus to someone at higher risk.

All of the FRCC staff wants you to be able to complete your semester in a safe manner.  We will continue to keep you informed both through email and messages on our website.

Sincerely,

Andy Dorsey
President

As many of you know, on March 5, 2020, Governor Polis announced the identification of two cases in Colorado. FRCC is monitoring the situation closely and will follow the recommendations from state and local health department officials.

We are also preparing for situations that may impact the college. The FRCC leadership team is actively refining our plans to continue instruction in the case of school closures. We are also developing protocols for how to support students and staff who become sick or are subject to quarantine.

As I noted before, all of us can help keep our campuses safe with steps like extra hand washing and staying home if we are sick. Please connect with your healthcare provider for further recommendations and screening if you believe you may be experiencing symptoms of either seasonal flu or COVID-19.

The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment has established a call line to address questions from the public about COVID-19. The Colorado Health Emergency Line for the Public (CO HELP) is a toll-free hotline for the latest public health information with reliable, consistent, and accurate information. The CO HELP number is 1-877-462-2911. Interpreters are available in Spanish and many other languages.

You can see more detailed health guidelines and updated information at the Center for Disease Control COVID-19 webpage. It includes guidance on prevention, symptoms, and treatment, testing, and frequently asked questions. You can also see information from the State of Colorado here.

We will provide more information as it becomes available.

Sincerely,

Andy Dorsey
President

I know that many of you have been following the news reports regarding the spread of the new coronavirus disease, called COVID-19, the United States and around the world. At this point, there are no known cases in Colorado. 

The health and safety of every member of our college community is important. The Front Range Community College leadership is actively monitoring the situation. We are coordinating closely with state and local health officials and will follow their lead on any quarantines, closures, or other health measures needed. We are also refining plans for how to continue education in the event of a closure. 

In the meantime, all of us can help keep our campuses safe with steps like extra hand washing and staying home if we are sick. Please connect with your healthcare provider for further recommendations and screening if you believe you may be experiencing symptoms of either seasonal flu or COVID-19. 

You can see more detailed health guidelines and updated information at the Center for Disease Control COVID-19 webpage. It includes guidance on prevention, symptoms, and treatment, testing, and frequently asked questions. You can also see information form the State of Colorado here. 

We will provide more information as it becomes available. 

Sincerely,

Andy Dorsey
President