Harford Community College Announces Phased Plan for Campus Reopening

From Harford Community College:

Harford Community College’s Taskforce for Reopening Campus has announced its recommendations for reopening the College. To ensure the health and safety of students, employees, and visitors to campus, the taskforce recommendations are based on data compiled from state and federal sources, public health organizations, and various higher education affinity groups. HCC’s reopening plan consists of a series of stages (Stage 0 through Stage 3); each stage is accompanied by triggers (dependent on local, state, and federal guidelines) and actions/controls that the College must implement before moving into each stage, including physical distancing, administrative and engineering controls, and the use of personal protective equipment.

The College is currently in Stage 0, with campus closed to all but essential personnel, and will remain so through May 31. As Maryland moves into the first stage of the Maryland Strong: Roadmap to Recovery, the College will enter Stage 1 of its reopening plan on June 1, 2020. During this stage, the College will continue with online-only instruction for the duration of the 2020 summer semester, and nonessential personnel will continue to work from home with only limited exceptions.

The College hopes to implement Stage 2A by the start of the fall 2020 semester. HCC will move to this stage after the federal and state governments proceed with the second phases of their respective plans. In this stage, certain essential courses (specifically those with a lab or experiential learning component) may be delivered in a face-to-face or hybrid format. However, most classes held during the fall 2020 semester would continue online. It is possible that conditions will allow for the College to enter Stage 2B at some point during the fall semester, which would permit a more extensive reopening of key campus offices and possibly enable some courses that had previously been online-only to transition to a hybrid format. However, for now, employees and students should plan for the continuation of an online-only learning and working environment through at least the end of the calendar year.

An executive summary of the taskforce findings can be read at www.harford.edu/coronavirus. As the situation evolves and the College progresses through the stages of the reopening plan, additional updates will be provided. Please continue to visit the HCC website for the most up-to-date information on the College’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.