Dear Fullerton College Community,
I wanted to provide you with an update related to our ongoing campus planning, monitoring and response to the Coronavirus (COVID-19).
While the threat in Orange County and California remains low, we understand that our students, faculty and staff may have questions and/or concerns, and we want to do our best to provide accurate information and guidance. It is our top priority to actively coordinate and plan our response to be prepared, in the event an outbreak were to occur. We will continue to communicate with you on this topic on a regular basis.
Fullerton College is following the guidance issued by the California Department of Public Health. According to the memo “Higher Education Guidance on Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19” Fullerton College is in Scenario 1, which means that normal campus operations and measures are in place to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Prevention is still key and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the following:
- Wash your hands often with soap and water for at least 20 seconds.
- If soap and water are not available, use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer.
- Avoid touching your 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.
I want to especially emphasize the importance of staying home when you are sick, and exercising as much understanding as possible when other students, faculty or staff are sick and need to stay away from campus. Thank you for being accommodating and understanding.
Contingency Plan Team
Staff from our Health Center, Student Services and our leadership team have been meeting to review guidelines from national, state and local health officials and the State Chancellor’s Office, and to assess risks and conduct contingency planning. For your information, the CCCCO has established a website that contains important information and resources related to COVID-19 at the following link: https://www.cccco.edu/About-Us/Chancellors-Office/Divisions/Communications-and-Marketing/Novel-Coronavirus
On Monday, March 9, our COVID-19 contingency plan team met to review and formalize a variety of contingency plans. This team includes representatives from Health Services, Maintenance and Operations, Distance Education, Faculty Senate, Campus Safety, Academic Computing Technologies, Student Support Services, Campus Communications and the President’s Office. Some of the topics that we discussed are summarized below, and we will continue to share information as it becomes available.
- Student Learning – Fullerton College understands that you may have concerns about continuing and completing your existing coursework if it becomes necessary to shift to remote learning. Steps have been taken to support this type of learning, should it become necessary. We will keep you informed about this as additional information is available. Students are encouraged to review resources on the Distance Education website.
- Rapid Remote Teaching for Faculty – Fullerton College is preparing to support remote teaching and learning including continuity training, should this become necessary. Our Distance Education office has been planning and organizing a variety of ways to support remote teaching and learning. Faculty will be receiving detailed information in the near future. There are also several resources available online. Please visit the Distance Education Website on Instructional Continuity to learn more about this important work.
- Maintenance and Operations – Our Maintenance and Operations department has been utilizing best practices regarding cleaning and disinfecting working and learning spaces on our campus for some time. It is the standard operating procedures of our custodial staff to follow CDC and EPA guidelines, when they disinfect all bathrooms, all classrooms and highly trafficked areas on a nightly basis at the college. These standards are important for the general and ongoing health of the college community. In light of raised concerns, the college is ordering and will be providing additional disinfecting cleaner available to the college’s departments so that cleaning can occur throughout the day.
- Communications – A team from Student Health Services and Office of Campus Communications are proactively monitoring information about COVID-19 from trusted public health agencies and the State Chancellor’s Office, and we will communicate broadly with the college community whenever needed. We will be launching a centralized COVID-19 website later this week where college updates and resources will be consolidated.
In summary, I want to thank each of you for working together and doing what we can to help us maintain a safe and healthy learning and working environment throughout our campus. I also want to reiterate the importance of staying home when you are sick, and exercising as much understanding as possible when other students, faculty or staff are sick and need to stay away from campus. Thank you for being accommodating and understanding.
Our team will continue to closely monitor the status of both our campus and nearby community, and follow the guidelines we receive from national, state and local health officials and the State Chancellor’s Office. We will continue to share important updates as additional information becomes available.
Sincerely,
Greg Schulz, Ed.D.
President
Fullerton College
This content was originally shared March 10, 2020 on this website in this format.