LTCC on snow delay; School lays out its response to COVID-19

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - Lake Tahoe Community College (LTCC) is on a delayed start of 10:00 a.m. this morning to allow time for snow removal operations to catch up around town.

LTCC plans on being open this coming week with staff on hand to assist students. They have moved face-to-face Winter quarter final exams to March 16-20 and have put social distancing measures into place on campus to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Starting March 23, LTCC will move most of its student support services to an online format. Spring quarter is then planned to begin on Monday, April 6 with most instruction moving to online.

Superintendent/President Jeff DeFranco sent out a letter to staff and students outlining the ongoing procedures for the end of Winter Quarter and the start of Spring Quarter. He and his team developed "guiding principles" to convey the college's response to COVID-19:

- Consider the safety of students and employees;
- Support students in continuing progress toward their academic and career goals, while ensuring we continue to support their basic needs;
- Maintain continuity for students and employees and take into account the fiscal impact on them by services lost due to COVID-19 response; and
- Make decisions that consider both the short and long-term impact on students, employees, and the community.

Specific Details:

Winter and Spring Courses:
- Finals for most classes were moved up to this week (March 16 - 20). This move allows faculty, staff, and students more time to transition to online teaching and learning options for Spring Quarter.
- The intent is for the majority of Winter 2020 courses to be completed by Friday, March 20.
- LTCC is transitioning to distance education for Spring Quarter (using Canvas). Canvas training for faculty began last week and is ongoing. A free student onboarding training for Canvas users is now available. This is a good course for any of us involved in distance education to complete.
- The week of March 23 - 27 is designed to be finals-free to allow time for faculty and staff to make necessary changes for courses and other student services to be offered virtually for Spring Quarter.
Spring Quarter starts Monday April 6 in a predominantly distance education environment.
- Virtual services for distance counseling, tutoring, and proctoring are available through Canvas now. LTCC will heavily utilize these services moving forward.
- Continued efforts to have good sanitation practices, extra campus cleaning, and social distancing practices are in full effect.

Student and Employee Support:
- LTCC’s campus is open and providing key services to students, including Library & Learning Services, One Stop, Student Housing, and Food Pantry to ensure that our students’ academic and basic needs are met.
- LTCC will reallocate staffing and training to ensure core functions that students and employees rely upon such as payroll and financial aid are able to maintain business continuity.
- LTCC continues to research and develop remote work policies as well as investigate employee and technology readiness.
- Zoom training for all employees takes place in the upcoming week. All governance meetings are moving to a Zoom format.
- We anticipate some employees may have conflicts with their planned work schedule for a variety of reasons. Please reach out to Human Resources to discuss your specific situation. As a reminder, if you are feeling ill or experiencing any symptoms, please don’t come to campus.
- Human Resources is preparing a resource page with the answers to staff questions regarding employment conditions.
- Additional details will be provided to employees in the coming week.

Informational Resources
- LTCC continues to follow direction from the California Department of Public Health’s document on Higher Education Guidance on Novel Coronavirus or COVID-19.
- LTCC is also following directions from the Governor’s Office and the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office. LTCC is also learning from examples set by other community colleges in the state while considering the context of local conditions.
- We have been in contact with Barton Health. As a reminder, if you have a fever, cough or shortness of breath, call your health provider’s office or Barton’s COVID-19 Clinical Health Line at (530) 600-1999.