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For over a month we have been living in a different time under very difficult circumstances. At Colorado Northwestern our campuses have been very quiet with students being gone and most employees working from home. However, slowly those things are starting to change. Although we are not back to normal, or even close to it presently, we are moving forward.
Because of COVID 19 we could not hold some of our ceremonies we normally have in the spring. We still wanted to honor our students and our graduates so we setup virtual honors banquets and a virtual graduation. You can find those on our website and on our YouTube page (Colorado Northwestern). On YouTube, you can also find some testimonials from our students who have been taking all their classes online or remotely over the last month. It’s been wonderful to see them again and listen to the talk about their love for college and our communities.
Starting on May 4, some of our students taking career and technical classes and needing hands on instruction have returned. In the next couple of weeks, more of the students will be returning so they can complete courses and finish their degrees. Only a few (about 10% to 15% of our total) students needing the face to face labs, clinicals, and instruction will be allowed to return to the campuses at this time. We are following all the protocols to keep our students, staff, faculty, and communities safe which is our first priority. Our students will be required to wear mask in class, maintain social distancing, and wash their hands regularly.
Also, over the next few weeks more of our employees will be returning to their offices on a part-time basis. We will keep the total number of employees on campus to less than 40% at any one time and will make sure they are following all protocols. Employees who want to work from their offices have to get approvals from their supervisors before they are allowed to work from our campuses.
We also want everyone to know, especially our students, that we plan to be back on campus in the fall with our classes and activities. Our employees and our students are excited about being able to return and are anxious to be able to get back to the “college life.” This will be our next step to getting back to normal.
We want all of our students, employees and community members to know that we are SPARTAN STRONG and together we can overcome this difficult time.
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By Ron Granger | Special to the Herald Times
