Central Wyoming College plans to ease students and employees back to campus for the spring semester. CWC went to phase one before Thanksgiving break due to the rise in COVID-19 cases. The decision was made to help slow down the spread and keep students and employees safe as they went home for the holiday break.
Now the plan is to bring back essential employees including employees who serve students, to campus on Jan. 5. The spring semester officially starts on Jan. 11; however, students will be remote learning until Jan. 18, where select classes that require a high demand for hands-on learning will start to ease students back to the classrooms. Jan. 25 is the target date to have all classes back to face-to-face instruction.
“Our plan is to have everyone back to campus by January 25, however, if we continue to see a rise in COVID cases in Fremont County we will reevaluate the situation and make the decision to continue virtual learning.”
– Lori Ridgway, director of marketing and public relations and communication for the college’s COVID response team
Masks and social distancing will continue to be required while in campus facilities, including all of CWC’s outreach centers. Masks are required outside if social distancing of six feet cannot be maintained. All employees serving students or who are frequently around students will be required to provide a negative COVID test prior to arrival on campus. All students and visitors on campus will continue to be monitored for illness by checking in at the health screening stations. Visitors are asked to wear masks at all times while on campus.
“CWC is navigating these challenging times as best as we can,” Ridgway said. “Our main goal is to continue to provide the education our students need and continue to keep everyone healthy and safe.”
Although courses will be ready to move to face-to-face instruction, remote learning will still be at the ready in case there are any rolling closures due to a rise in COVID cases. “CWC and faculty at CWC are ready to transition if the situation changes and have built-in flexibility for course delivery,” Ridgway said.
CWC also has a plan in place for any students who contract the virus, which includes working with them to continue their studies remotely and providing rooms on campus where they can quarantine to reduce the risk of spreading the virus to others.
For more information about CWC’s plans and information regarding COVID go to www.cwc.edu/coronavirus.
