Updates
HCC Reopening Approach - Safe Options
Jun 4, 2020
Dear HCC Family,
Following Governor Abbott’s announcement of a plan to safely reopen Texas, I commissioned the Reopen HCC Taskforce to guide our College through a phased reopening that supports our institutional mission and safeguards our students, faculty and staff. The Taskforce is a diverse team of over 100 administrators, faculty, support staff and students.
Our principles for reopening HCC are the same principles we have followed throughout our COVID-19 response, starting with protecting the safety and wellbeing of our students and employees. Based on these principles – as well as guidelines from the U.S. Center for Disease Control (CDC), local and state government authorities, and the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board – we have identified the following four reopening milestones:
- Temporary Building Access (complete): Temporary building access was provided to faculty and staff so they could retrieve essential equipment, files and other materials. Buildings then returned to essential access only.
- Summer 2020 Session 1 (June): All Summer courses remain online. Select workforce programs return to campus to complete required hands-on training for Spring 2020 labs. Access to HCC buildings will only be granted to participating individuals.
- Summer 2020 Session 2 (July): All Summer courses remain online. Additional labs and workforce programs return to campus to complete required hands-on training for Spring 2020 courses. Access to HCC buildings will only be granted to participating individuals.
- Fall 2020 (August): Fall courses begin with a mix of fully online and in-person options.
Reopening in phases enables us to tailor and build upon the needed screening, cleaning and social distancing measures. As we reach each milestone, we will continue to enhance our protocols based on the latest guidance. Over the coming days and weeks, we will share more about the safety measures we are putting into place so everyone is aware and prepared for returning to campus.
Additionally, we are currently working to make appropriate modifications to our Fall schedule to provide options that accommodate our students and faculty. Our goal is to provide the most flexible, safest ways for our students to learn. To do this, courses in the Fall will be delivered in four different ways. We have created a helpful short video to explain the different options which I encourage everyone to watch.
There are still several details to work out in order for us to be ready for the Fall, so you can expect to hear additional updates from me and other HCC leaders as we work together to reopen HCC safely.
Sincerely,
Cesar Maldonado, Ph.D., P.E.
Chancellor