Dear employees:

As our state continues to try and mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, today Governor Gretchen Whitmer issued a stay home, stay safe order. To support this effort, and comply with the order, Northwestern Michigan College will extend the closure of all five of its campuses in Traverse City for two additional weeks, through at least April 13.

College employees are already categorized into essential and non-reporting/on call classifications. HR will contact all essential employees with more detailed information today about this “stay at home” order. 

Faculty are essential employees and will continue teaching their classes virtually, with no course/lab work permitted on campus. 

Virtual instruction of classes are scheduled to continue through April 27. You can also see a complete list of canceled events here. The college will announce a decision on commencement and the remainder of the semester’s activities this week. 

For those who do not need to report to campus at this time please follow these stay at home safety guidelines:

  • Don’t leave the house unless you absolutely have to. 
  • Don’t socialize with people outside your family.  
  • You are allowed to go outside for essentials like groceries or prescriptions, but you should limit those trips to no more than once a week if possible. 
  • You can visit someone if you are their caregiver. 
  • You can walk the dog or exercise outside (for brief periods) as long as you keep a six-foot distance from others. 
  • Avoid face to face contact, especially in close up and confined spaces.
  • Who should do this? Everyone who lives in an area with a mandatory shelter-in-place order.

This is an unprecedented and rapidly evolving situation. We will continue to communicate with you to keep you safe and limit the disruption to learning as much as possible. If you have any questions or concerns please reach out to your supervisor. 

As we get updates and changes, we post them first on nmc.edu/coronavirus. Please check here for the latest information.