Coronavirus (COVID-19) March 18 Update

Posted: March 18, 2020

As many of you may already know, last night, the Casper, Powell and Cody newspapers announced that a Cody woman tested positive for COVID-19. As a community, we knew that it would arrive, but the reality of its arrival can bring a somber feeling to us all. The Pandemic Response team met this morning to discuss the situation and review our planning and operational efforts to date.

For now, Northwest College will continue to operate at our current Level 3). The extension of spring break will continue, online instructional transition will continue, and we will continue to be student focused, campus and community minded, and thoughtful in our efforts to deal with this situation. Employees and students should continue to follow recommended practices regarding social distancing and hand washing.

The COVID-19 situation has and will continue to alter our lives. We do not know how long this situation will continue but the Pandemic Response Team has been working for the past few weeks (and weekends) to develop comprehensive planning and operational tasks. Here are some essential points we want to communicate today.

1. The Pandemic Response Team has developed a COVID-19 NWC Levels of Response document that has evolved into five levels of pandemic response. Key actions are listed under each level highlighting areas of focus. Northwest College moved to and is operating at LEVEL 3 following the Governor's recommendation for school closures is through April 3rd. Understand, this is a living document and will be adjusted as needed. Because of the dynamically emergent way this situation is unfolding on a national, regional, and local scale, know that we may be making adjustments to our levels of response as necessary. Should we move to a different Level, you will be notified via Trapper Alert text messages and your college email with further instructions.


2. A temporary staffing plan has been developed and is now in place. Even though our campus is currently closed to the public, the College is still open and everyone is working. As you work with your supervisor to identify ways in which Northwest College can remain open digitally (via phone, email or online) if not physically, we know you are all thinking about creative ways we can be student-centered and forward-thinking as we tackle this unprecedented situation. Faculty are working hard to develop alternative formats so that students can continue their NWC education as unimpeded as possible. Staff is also developing new service models which will translate into some folks remaining on campus, some folks transitioning offsite, and some folks who will likely be a blend of the two. Employees who have self-identified with travel or health conditions have been working with Human Resources to evaluate options to work from home or be a medical hiatus. We know there will be unique situations and needs for our students, our employees and their families. Please continue to work with your supervisor and Human resources and needed.


3. Northwest College employees will be paid regardless of what category they are placed in the temporary staffing plan; whether you are called to work on-campus, asked to work at home where possible, or asked to go on a work hiatus, you will receive your regular pay through the April 3 closure. Northwest College does not want any employees to live in fear of not being able to support their families or pay bills during this closure. We are monitoring current proposed federal legislation that calls for financial support for Colleges and Universities, students and employees. We are hopeful that these efforts will support everyone in our efforts now and for the recovery following this situation.


4. Northwest College has also implemented a call tree document which may be utilized as needed in this situation. Call trees are often used as a quick, direct way to contact employees to relay information both down and up the organizational structure when other means of communication are not available or easy to collate. Thank you for providing your personal phone numbers towards that end.


5. Know that we are working on some tips, tricks and tools to help you transition to working from home; a future communication will include advice and details on things like setting up call-forwarding to your home number (including ways to set up a Google phone number to mask your personal number on caller ID), setting up Microsoft Teams or Google groups to have remote meetings, or advice to-date from Computing Services on using VMs etc. Be sure to share ideas of your own with your supervisors so you can create a plan together that will work for your area.

Please continue to follow the NWC COVID-19 website for answers to Frequently Asked Questions as they’re added. If you have any FAQs you think we should add, please send them to COVID-19@nwc.edu for consideration.  

Thank you for your diligence as we pull together to deal with this unprecedented situation. Take care of yourselves and your families and stay well. 

Stefani Hicswa, PhD

President 

Northwest College