IMPORTANT: NECC and Coronavirus Preparation and Prevention – March 18, 2020

Good Evening, NECC Students, Staff, and Faculty—

This evening, as the Coronavirus pandemic continues to evolve and NECC, like colleges, companies, and communities across the Commonwealth continues to take precautions and make necessary changes to campus operations, please note the following important updates and reminders:

Remote Work, Teaching, and Learning

As I reported yesterday, NECC and all of the Massachusetts Community Colleges are fully committed to maximizing remote work, teaching, and learning opportunities for the foreseeable future as we seek to ensure the health and safety of our students, employees, and communities.

Converting quickly to remote work and remote teaching is not a simple task, and I appreciate everyone’s willingness to get creative, to be a bit patient, and perhaps to try out some new techniques and technologies. Yes, we are still working out the wrinkles, and will be for several days, but for now please note:

• On campus, in-person services, the hours of services, and the staffing available for services, are all now limited.
• For the remainder of this week, and through March 29, in-person services to students and the public will be limited on both the Haverhill and Lawrence campus to these hours: 
  • Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 9 am – 1 pm
  • Wednesday 1 pm – 4 pm.
• If you are a supervisor and have not already done so already, please complete an online IT Help Desk Ticket via the MyNECC Portal specifying the technology needs (e.g., laptop, VPN access, etc.) of employees in your area(s). Please provide a description of how urgent the need is (e.g., immediate for an employee working from home today, next week for a faculty member teaching online, etc.)
• By taking these steps, we have already managed to convert more than 80% of our employees to remote work, with more in process, and anyone who has been on campus during the past three days will have noticed very few people, and considerable social distancing being practiced.
• Additionally, in advance of “Remote Teaching and Learning Prep Week” next week, approximately two-thirds of NECC’s spring courses are either already fully online, have converted to remote teaching format, or have a plan in place to convert by March 30.

This is phenomenal, and a tremendous service to our students. Thank you.

Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Department of Higher Education Guidance

The Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Department of Higher Education have just released “Public Health Guidance for Institutions of Higher Education Related to COVID-19” which apply to all public and private colleges and universities in the state, and can be found online at: https://www.mass.edu/covid-19/_documents/DPH%20and%20DHE%20Higher%20Ed%20Public%20Health%20COVID19%20Guidance_03.17.20.pdf. All public colleges and universities in the state remain open, with limited on-campus, in-person access. The steps NECC is taking that have been described in emails over the past few days align with this guidance, and will be adjusted as the situation continues to evolve.

Welcome, Spring

Naturalist, journalist, and New York Times editorialist Hal Borland said, “No winter lasts forever. No spring skips its turn.”

Tomorrow, as we welcome the first day of spring, our challenges are far from over. But they will be, and we will get there together.

Please continue to check your NECC email for updates, and the NECC Coronavirus Information web page at www.necc.mass.edu/public-safety/coronavirus-information. Thank you for all you are doing, and please be well.

Lane A. Glenn
President
Northern Essex Community College

Check out “Running the Campus,” my blog featuring stories and perspectives on leadership, higher education, and going the extra mile: president.necc.mass.edu or connect with me on social media on Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn.