Dear Colleagues – The past few days have been spent planning and adjusting to the rapid changes in the spread of COVID-19 across our state. While there have been no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in our District, we are preparing for various levels of a pandemic response. It is critical to protect our students, peers, and communities by reducing the number of close interactions that occur at our sites. At the same time, we want to minimize the impact to the education of our students. To achieve this balance, our campuses will continue to remain open as we take immediate steps to limit the number of gatherings to help protect public health and slow the spread of COVID-19.
Instruction: On the advice of state and local officials, NOCCCD will limit in-person classes as appropriate, and explore various alternative delivery methods for instruction. Cypress College and Fullerton College will cancel classes Friday, March 13; Monday, March 16; and Tuesday, March 17 for planning, implementation, and training staff on online platforms. Instruction will begin again on Wednesday, March 18 for Cypress College and Fullerton College. Students should expect to hear course-specific plans from the campuses and their instructors in the coming days. NOCE will cancel the majority of in-person classes for the Winter Term beginning on Monday, March 16. An adapted plan for NOCE’s Spring Term will be released soon.
Communication: Both colleges and NOCE have launched COVID-19 update webpages: Cypress College’s can be accessed at https://www.cypresscollege.edu/coronavirus/; Fullerton College’s is at https://coronavirus.fullcoll.edu/; and NOCE’s is at https://noce.edu/coronavirus. The District page can be found at www.nocccd.edu/coronavirus. Regular communications will continue at the campus and District level throughout this crisis. As a best practice, all employees should make sure that their emergency contact information is correct on myGateway.
Events: Per Governor Newsom’s memo, all campus or District gatherings over 250 people will be postponed or cancelled. At the local level, all meetings are being assessed and, where possible, will be conducted via Zoom or conference call or, if non-essential, be postponed or cancelled.
Travel: All non-essential travel is suspended for District employees until further notice. The Accounting department will soon send out a travel reimbursement form that can be used if you have a trip scheduled/cancelled and have expended your own funds. All travel deemed essential will need to be approved by campus CEOs, Vice Chancellors, or the Chancellor directly.
Offices to Remain Open: At this time, all District and campus offices are to remain open and operational—all permanent employees should report to duty as normal. Staff who believe they are at high-risk should speak to their direct supervisor for more direction. Employee issues will be assessed on a case-by-case basis as the situation develops.
Please contact your direct supervisor and/or Human Resources for more direction. The Board of Trustees, myself, along with District Services staff, are committed to supporting all our employees, students, and the community in responding responsibly for the safety of all. We will get through this crisis together.
Cheryl A. Marshall,
Chancellor North Orange County Community College District
Office: (714) 808-4797
1830 W. Romneya Drive Anaheim, CA 92801
www.nocccd.edu
This content was originally shared March 12, 2020 on this website in this format.