COVID-19 - Heritage Christian University

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Re-entry Update 10-25-21

COVID-19 numbers in our area have dropped low enough that the University’s Administrative Council has decided to lift HCU’s mask mandate. As of Monday, October 25th, individuals are no longer required to wear masks on HCU’s campus. Unvaccinated individuals are encouraged to continue wearing a mask to protect themselves and others; however, the mandate is lifted from everyone regardless of vaccination status. Of course, anyone who feels more comfortable wearing a mask is welcome to do so and is supported in that decision.

Everyone is still encouraged to practice social distancing and wash their hands to reduce the risk of spreading any diseases.

Guidelines

Health and Hygiene Practices

Re-entry Update 5-24-21

a. After Monday, May 24^th, 2021, through July 31^st.

a) If you are fully vaccinated, you can resume activities that you did before the pandemic.

b) Unvaccinated People: Wear a mask, stay 6 feet apart, and wash your hands.

b. Quarantine (Only change is for vaccinated individuals)

a) Vaccinated individuals do not have to quarantine unless you have symptoms, then you must have a negative test or follow current quarantine guidelines for unvaccinated individuals.

Re-entry Update 1-19-21

Key Re-Entry Updates:

-Monday, January 4– Faculty and staff return to campus.
-Friday, January 22 – Annual faculty/staff conference.
-Monday, January 18 through Saturday, January 23 – Students move into dorms.
-Monday, January 25 – Classes officially begin in an online format for all students.
-Monday, February 15 – Campus students move from online to in-person instruction.
-Friday, May 14 through Tuesday, May 18 – Final exams.
-Saturday, May 22– Graduation.

Re-Entry Guidelines:

3 a. All who enter the main building will enter through the front door for the first entry of the day.

5. The check-in process for the library is as follows:

a. Library hours will be 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Patrons may use magnetic keycards during this time only.
b. To enter the library, patrons must be faculty, staff, or current HCU credit students (enrolled in spring classes being taken for credit). Visitors to the library must follow protocols in #3 above. Patrons will be subject to no-touch temperature checks upon entry.
c. Patrons must wear a mask properly while in the library (or any campus buildings). Masks will be provided if a patron needs one.
d. There will be assigned seats for social distancing.
e. Patrons are allowed limited access in the stacks (the rows of shelving).
f. Patrons are required to ask OML staff to pull books off the shelves in some designated areas.
g. Library restrooms are unavailable for use.
h. No food or drink is allowed in the library.
i. After any use of library equipment, patrons are asked to notify the librarian so that the equipment may be sanitized.

Quarantine/Isolation Guidelines:

1 b. Quarantine should last 14 days from the date of the last exposure.

2. What counts as close contact? “Within 48 hours of the onset of symptoms” added.

4. If either roommate in a dorm room is required to quarantine, both roommates will be required to quarantine for the full-14 day period.

Further Communication:

Infected persons should contact the supervisor and any person they were in close contact with 48 hours prior to the first symptom. (See page 6 for the definition of “close contact.”
Changes to this policy will be made when the vaccine is more widely distributed.

To read the entire HCU Covid-19 campus re-entry plan, click here.

Re-entry Update 11-17-20

Re-Entry Guidelines Document

PAGE 2

3 The check-in process for the main building will be as follows:

a. All who enter the main building will enter through the front door.

b. ~~We will create a one-way entrance and exit system to minimize close contact. (The front doors will be for entrance only; employees and students will exit through one of the other entrance/exit doors.)~~

c. All must check in at the main entrance before going to other buildings on campus (except for dorm students who are going to their dorm rooms).

d. Check-in will be available starting at 7:30 am. Please do not enter prior to this.

e. All will be subject to no-touch temperature checks upon entry.

i. ~~Each will be checked once each day and will be given a special sticker for that day.~~

ii. Those with a temperature of 100.4 or above will not be allowed in buildings.

To read the entire HCU Covid-19 campus re-entry plan, click here.

PAGE 4

5. The check-in process for the library is as follows:

1. Library hours will be 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. Patrons may use magnetic keycards during this time only.

2. Patrons must check in through the front entrance of the main building and ~~present a current “checked at the gate sticker” upon entering the library.~~

3. To enter the library, patrons must be faculty, staff, or current HCU credit students (enrolled in fall classes being taken for credit). Outside visitors to the library must follow protocols in #3 above.

4. Patrons must wear a mask while in the library (or any campus buildings). Masks will be provided if a patron needs one.

5. There will be assigned seats for social distancing.

6. Patrons are not allowed in the stacks (the rows of shelving).

h. Patrons are required to ask OML staff to pull books off the shelves.

6. Check-in process for the dorms is as follows:

1. Check-in is by appointment only. Coordinate appointments through Travis Harmon and/or Perry Bretherick. The student is not to arrive at the campus more than 15 minutes before the appointed move-in time and they are not to enter any buildings other than the dorm. Appointments will be staggered such that no two students are moving into the dorm at the same time.

2. Limit off-campus helpers. No more than two off-campus individuals may help with student move-in, and they must leave campus within 15 minutes of completing move-in (and before the next student starts moving in).

3. Students and off-campus helpers must follow the same protocols as the “Check-in process for the main building” (#2 above).

4. Students and off-campus visitors must wear masks while on campus.

Campus Activities:

1. We will not be serving meals in the cafeteria this fall. We hope to be able to return to doing so in the spring.

2. Chapel will be conducted with social distancing in place and all attendees and participants wearing masks.

3. There will be no off-campus chapel speakers unless they are speaking virtually.

4. The student center and gymnasium will be closed.

Re-entry Update 9-14-20

Due to several new quarantine/isolation cases according to our COVID-19 policy, we are returning to online only instruction for the next 2 weeks effective immediately. We will resume in-person instruction on Monday, September 28, 2020 pending a review of our status at that time. Instructors will continue to hold their weekly schedules for those that join class live via Zoom.

In addition, in-person chapel will be suspended as well as in-person library service for students. Jamie and Brad will work with any students who need library materials, just contact either of them for assistance.

Finally, resident students will have their mail delivered to their dorm over the next two weeks.

Thank you for your grace in the midst of these changes. As always, please pray for us!

Re-entry Updates 8-27-20

Re-Entry Guidelines

g. #3. The medical community no longer qualifies gaiter masks as safe.

Classroom Health and Hygiene Practices

#2. Teachers may wear face shields while teaching in the physical presence of students only, provided they remain at least six feet from students. Teachers may remove their mask if they are 10 feet from students or if they are six feet from students and have a plexiglass barrier in between themselves and the students.

To read the entire HCU Covid-19 campus re-entry plan, click here.

Re-entry Updates 7-31-20

Family takes care of family. We view one another at HCU as family. Loving families help and take care of one another. Also, when we put others above ourselves, we embody the attitude and actions of Christ (cf. Philippians 2:1-8). Most of the guidelines in the document attached center around conducting ourselves in such a way as to protect those with whom we work and study from the virus.

Wearing masks, observing social distancing, and practicing good hygiene are means of protecting our fellow family members from anything harmful that we might have. Some of us may not be concerned about catching the virus. We may have the age and the health to fight it. We must remember that others in the Heritage family are much more vulnerable. We also have members of our family who are taking care of loved ones who are vulnerable. We do not want to do anything that endangers them. We not only need to consider our conduct on campus, but we also need to think about how we act off-campus. When we travel to high-risk areas, refuse to wear masks, and do not practice social distancing and good hygiene habits off-campus, we risk bringing the virus back to the people we love on campus.

To read the entire HCU Covid-19 campus re-entry plan, click here.

Re-entry Updates 7-17-20

God is at work at Heritage Christian University! We finished the 2019-20 fiscal year with positive assets. We had over 200 people in classes this summer, with over 50 of those being credit students. We have an amazing new classroom renovation that will be such a blessing to our students and teachers. This is coupled with major renovations in several offices, the McCreary cabins, and other places on campus. As of right now, our application and enrollment numbers look good for the fall. We have made four new hires that will enrich our efforts to fulfill the HCU mission. All this happened during a major time of transition in personnel on campus and a worldwide pandemic. It happened because of the work you are doing and ultimately because we serve an awesome God!

We continue to make plans for our return to campus in August. I cannot begin to describe to you how valuable the work and wisdom of VPs Harmon, Jackson, Moon, and Youngblood have been during this process. I am fortunate to be able to work with them. We truly appreciate your patience, hard work, and willingness to adapt during this pandemic. You have gone above and beyond the call, and we are grateful! More info will be coming out over the next two weeks, but here are the items decided so far.

Our current plan is for faculty and staff to return to campus on Monday, August 3, the day of the Faculty Inservice. The standard exceptions to this, based on the CDC and Governor Ivey’s office, would be those 65 and older; those with underlying conditions that are not well controlled, such as lung and heart conditions, immunocompromised individuals, severely obese, diabetics, and those with kidney and liver disease; those who are sick; those who have tested positive for COVID-19 or who have been in close proximity to someone who has; and pregnant women. If you are over 65, you are not required to stay home, but you need to understand the risks involved. Those who feel that they meet the conditions listed above, or feel that they have another valid reason to do work from home need to communicate with their supervisor. Those who work from home will need to work with their supervisors to establish work and reporting plans.

All who enter the main building will enter through the front door, and we will have a check-in process for entry (no-touch temperature checks, health questions, etc.). The library also has an entry process in place. We have made the decision that we will not be serving meals in the cafeteria this fall. We hope to be able to do so in the spring, but the logistics and dangers trying to do it in the fall make it impractical.

We are currently under a mask order from the Governor’s Office. Citizens are required to “wear a mask when you are in public and in close contact with other people. Specifically, the order says to “wear a mask when you are within six feet of a person from another household in any of the following places: (a) an indoor space open to the public; (b) a vehicle operated by a transportation service; and (c) an outdoor public space where ten or more people are gathered” (governor.alabama.com).

We plan to have our annual Faculty/Staff conference on the morning of Thursday, August 6. The August Board meeting will be held on campus on Friday, August 7. They will meet in the main building to provide more social distancing. Classes will begin on August 10, and we envision students being physically present in the classrooms (with health and social distancing protocols in place). We have not yet fully decided on the move-in dates for students. We are close to finalizing our protocols and hope to have them available by the end of next week.

3-12-20

Out of an abundance of caution and based on public health concerns, we will move to distance learning instruction exclusively beginning on Monday, March 16 and continuing through the end of the Spring 2020 semester.

All Kerr Hall resident students should make plans to move out by March 15 at 10:00 PM. Students may not return to campus until classroom instruction resumes.

Employees will continue to work on campus until otherwise notified. In some cases, remote work and “social distancing” may be appropriate. We are taking these precautions out of care and concern for the HCU community.

Here is the full policy, and we urge you to keep a check on our website at www.hcu.edu or our social media pages for the latest information.

Other university actions:

University events are postponed or canceled until further notice to help prevent the potential spread of the virus. This includes the HCLI Church Leadership Workshop (canceled), HCU Benefit Dinner in Winfield, and others. Contact Marketing and Events for details or questions.
All international and non-essential domestic travel on HCU business or with HCU programs, for HCU faculty, staff, and students is suspended.
Decisions have not yet been made on the golf tournament or the timing of spring commencement.
Campus access will be limited to faculty, staff, and their immediate families until April 4, 2020. A decision on whether to extend that date later into the semester will be made at a later time. Exceptions will be addressed on a case-by-case basis.

Other Resources

Alabama Department of Public Health Center for Disease Control and Prevention State of Alabama: Office of the Governor Alabama.Gov Testing Centers in Alabama COVID-19 Alabama Map Risk Indicator

VIDEO: How to Wear a Mask Correctly Slow the Spread of COVID-19 What To Do If You Are Sick Frequently Asked Questions: Mask Order

COVID-19 UpdatesHERITAGE AT HOME