NORTH CENTRAL’S STUDENT AND COMMUNITY RESOURCE CENTER TO REOPEN TO PUBLIC ON SEPTEMBER 8

North Central Michigan College will reopen its Student and Community Resource Center (SCRC) to the public on September 8, 2020, the first day of fall semester.

Until then, SCRC team members will continue their preparations to ensure the health and safety of patrons.  Such measures include visual cues for social distancing and mask wearing, multiple sanitation stations, limited capacity in the fitness rooms, and processes for staff cleaning of borrowed equipment.

In accordance with Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s executive order, college personnel have been working remotely since mid-March, but began a phased return to their offices in mid-May.  North Central’s Board of Trustees approved a formal return-to-work plan on June 23, which calls for all employees to return to campus by July 6.

“We will spend July and August carefully crafting the plan to safely welcome the public back to campus,” said North Central President David Roland Finley, Ph.D.  “We want to be certain to do so in a manner that protects the health of students, community members, and our faculty and staff.”

Beginning July 6, community members may visit campus by appointment and North Central’s Outreach Department will offer one-on-one and small group campus tours to interested prospective students.  All student resources including academic advising, counseling, and financial aid have occurred uninterrupted despite the campus closure.

On May 11, Finley announced that face-to-face instruction would resume on September 8 with proper safety precautions, including thorough cleaning and disinfecting of buildings and classrooms, the use of masks and social distancing, and physical barriers such as sneeze guards in close-contact areas.

Two contingency plans are being developed simultaneously and may be implemented should there be a resurgence of Covid-19 in Northern Michigan.  One plan calls for hybrid learning (i.e., a class is taught on campus one week and then remotely the following week), and the other plan calls for wholly online instruction, should circumstances warrant.

“Regardless of which of these three levels is utilized, we will work in earnest to deliver a high-quality education to our collegiate learners,” Finley said.