Barton Community College released its latest coronavirus response plan on Sunday:
“As the world unites across borders to slow the spread of the coronavirus Disease COVID-19 to protect the lives of those at risk, Barton Community College has identified a number of measures to do our part reduce the chance of exposure for students, faculty and staff and our community. Despite the challenging situation, Barton remains determined to continue to provide a high level of service and quality instruction.
We are closely monitoring the status of the pandemic; these measures are subject to change as the situation evolves. Please refer to bartonccc.edu/covid19 for the most current information.”
College officials noted that student housing remains open on the Great Bend campus and the college will continue to have students living on campus.
The latest procedures include:
Minimal staffing
on campus
“The college’s facilities will be open to current and future student needs but are otherwise closed to the public.”
The reduced staff will be implemented all of the college’s locations, including Great Bend, Fort Riley, Grandview Plaza, Fort Leavenworth, and the One Stop building at 1025 Main Street in downtown Great Bend, effective March 24 and remaining in effect until further notice.
Employees who can work at home will begin doing so March 24. The college has offered resources and alternative ways to stay home for individuals whose job responsibilities are not conducive to working remotely.
Those who are working on-site are taking extra precautions.
Spring Break Extension & Remote Access for Face-to-Face Classes
Spring break, which was scheduled for March 16-20, will be extended through the following week for students. Faculty and staff will maintain their work schedules for the week of March 23. Face-to-face classes at Great Bend, Fort Riley and Fort Leavenworth will resume March 30 via Zoom, Barton’s online streaming video service, fully online, or via other alternative instructional formats. The extension of the spring break will give faculty added time to plan and adapt the curriculum for alternate delivery. The revised format of delivery will continue for the remainder of the spring term.
Students are required to attend class remotely unless access to an Internet connection is prohibitive or places an undue financial burden on the student. In those situations, Barton will work with students to identify a resource or solution.
Certain face-to-face courses (primarily career and technical in nature) will continue at the Great Bend, Military Schools, and Grandview Plaza campus locations with added precautions. The College’s BASICS program offered at Ellsworth Correctional and Larned Correctional will continue to operate with guidance from the Kansas Department of Corrections.
• Barton’s high school programming offered in two formats (CEP at the high school and partnered online) will shift in alignment with the state’s requirements to close K-12 buildings. Online programming across the instructional system via BOL remains operational.
• The following Barton Community College classes will resume face-to-face instruction with added precautions the week of March 30 as originally scheduled at the start of the spring semester. Program leaders are reaching out to impacted students to notify them of additional details pertinent to their classes. Students in these programs should check their college email messages, course shells and/or visit with their instructor for more information:
- Commercial Driver’s License
- Auto Body
- Automotive
- Welding
- Adult Education (GED Studies)
- Medical Assistant (MDAS 1648)
- Criminal Justice (CRIM 1668 and 1658)
- Target Shooting
- Adult Healthcare (Certified Nurse Aide/Certified Medication Aide)
- Medical Laboratory Technology
- Phlebotomy
- Emergency Medical Services (EMS)
- Nursing
Online classes will continue as normal, including the remaining sessions beginning March 16, March 30 and April 13.
Event Cancellations
All public events through April and into May have been canceled or postponed. Check Barton’s calendar or news section on the website, or its Facebook page for updates as the semester continues.
Faculty, Staff & Student Travel Restrictions
Effective immediately, and through May 22, all college-related international travel and out-of-state-travel and air travel is prohibited. This includes travel to the Kansas City metro area.
All personal international travel is strongly discouraged (employees and students).
On a case-by-case basis, trips may be approved based on a risk assessment of each individual trip.
Returning or arriving to campus
Employees who become ill during or upon returning from travel with virus-like symptoms will need to contact a health-care provider as well as their supervisor and HR department for direction as soon as possible. Employees returning from travel who do not exhibit virus-like symptoms must still contact their supervisor as well as HR department upon return and may be directed to remain away from the workplace for 14 days to determine whether or not they have been exposed. The returning employee should work with his or her supervisor and HR to set appropriate telecommuting arrangements (if the position and requirements allow for this) or request leave time off from work.
General Preventative Measures
Faculty, staff, students and the community are advised to continue following the best practices for preventing the spread of the Coronavirus, including reminders to wash hands often and practice social distancing when feasible.
Check bartonccc.edu/covid19 for the most current information.
