Spring Break extended due to Coronavirus concerns

Posted: March 12, 2020

As the World Health Organization (WHO) has officially declared the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak a global pandemic, Northwest College continues to monitor and prepare for the potential spread of COVID-19 in our community. With the goal of limiting the exposure of our students, employees and the citizens of the Big Horn Basin, especially those populations most vulnerable to this virus, we are creating plans to address all college instruction, services and activities on campus for the remainder of the spring semester.

Although there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 at NWC at this time, we know that many members of the NWC community have been traveling this week during spring break to parts of the country and world where there may be community spread of COVID-19.

As a precaution; 

1. The College will be extending spring break 2020 through Tuesday, March 17, to monitor the status and continue pandemic planning before spring classes resume.

2. The College has made the decision to transition in-person classes to online instruction wherever possible for as long as needed.
 

What does this mean for our employees? Until further notice;

• The College is still open and operational.
• The College Pandemic Response Team is actively working on plans for our employees; you will be communicated specifics as they are approved, as soon as possible.
• All other college activities and events on and off campus are currently being reviewed and evaluated for alternate delivery or rescheduling. This also includes college travel plans.
• Residence halls and college apartments will be open, and food will be served in the DeWitt Student Center.

What does this mean for our students? Until further notice;

• The College is still open and operational.
• Residence halls and college apartments will be open, and food will be served in the DeWitt Student Center.
• Stay tuned. Your professors will be hard at work over the next several days. Please give them time to make these adjustments and communicate directly any specific instructions relating to your courses.
• All other college activities and events on and off campus are currently being reviewed and evaluated for alternate delivery or rescheduling. This also includes college travel plans.

We are taking these steps out of an abundance of caution. Public health officials have not yet made this a requirement for public institutions. Nevertheless, given all that we know and what we can anticipate based on information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, we believe this is the most prudent course of action at the current time.

Your best sources of information on NWC COVID-19 updates will be your college email inbox, the NWC COVID-19 website at https://nwc.edu/covid-19 and the Trapper Alert system (if the latter becomes applicable). For Trapper Alerts, please check your MyNWC account at https://nwc.edu/mynwc to make sure your phone number is up to date. If you previously opted out of these alerts, you can opt back in at any time at https://my.nwc.edu/Pages/rave.aspx (login required).

We know that you will have many specific questions/concerns about how this will affect you. We will be sending further communications to keep you updated and to answer those questions. The College has created an email address covid-19@nwc.edu that can be used to submit questions as they arise.