Dear employees:
As our state continues efforts to mitigate the health impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has extended the Stay Home, Stay Safe order to May 28. 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 through May 28.
College employees are already categorized into essential and non-reporting/on call classifications. If you must come to campus, please wear a face mask, as specified in the governor’s order. For more information and resources for working while campuses are closed, including instructions on campus mail pickup and delivery, please visit the “keep working” section of nmc.edu/coronavirus.
Following the Governor’s guidance, the college will begin taking a slow and deliberate approach to phased re-starting of some functions on campus. For the safety of our students, employees and community it is essential that these guidelines are followed.
New to this order, training of first responders is allowed. At NMC this will mean the resumption of the Law Enforcement program. The college is finalizing plans to deliver learning to these students in a way that also meets important health and safety guidelines.
Previous orders from the governor allow lawn care and construction work to resume. At NMC, that work includes work on the new West Hall Innovation Center and annual spring lawn care with our grounds crews.
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 stay home, stay safe order.
Summer semester will be delivered virtually, as announced on April 8. You can see a list of canceled events here. The College is currently planning several possible scenarios for fall delivery of instruction including face-to-face, hybrid and virtual options. The goal is to communicate the finalized plans with you in early June.
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 continue to check here for the latest information.
NMC Public Relations