Coronavirus (COVID-19)

There is a great deal of thoughtful discussion and debate about the Fall 2020 semester at Carteret CC and at community colleges around the country. While we still have much to consider, Carteret CC expects to open our doors and arms to our students on campus, in person, this fall.

We will have to make some realistic adjustments. The safety of everyone in our extended community – especially those most at risk – will be the preeminent consideration in anything we do. But across the NC Community College System, it is our shared goal to return to campus, while ensuring we are well-prepared for any curve balls that COVID-19 may throw our way.

Carteret CC and our sister institutions across the NC Community College System are exploring a wide range of scenarios. The primary assumption is that being on campus this fall will look and feel a bit different. Processes, procedures, and protocols will have to change based on what we have learned about this virus and the conditions at the time. Face coverings will be required.

These changes, for instance, will impact many things – gathering sizes, performances, and events. In short, the most likely options will take a few steps back from a full return to normal.

The ability to implement appropriate protective measures and physical distancing for everyone on our campus will drive our discussions and our decisions as we plan. We know special care has to be taken to protect faculty and staff, students, and members of our community who are at higher risk, and these considerations are fundamentally important to how we approach the Fall and beyond.

We urge students to take steps now to be ready, even if things remain “subject to change.” Fall registration is open and classes are filling up.

Even once we come back, we expect more students will take some of their classes online. As we discovered, we have the capability to quickly transition a high volume of courses online to help students preserve academic continuity and progress. Moving forward, we will be able to enhance the online experience in terms of both course design and student support services. While we intend to physically be here in the fall, it’s our responsibility to be prepared for any scenario, including the need to once again move to online instruction only.

Our team is focused on and deeply committed to bringing life and vibrancy back to Carteret CC’s campus this fall.

Fall 2020 Semester Calendar

Carteret CC remains diligent in its efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19. Many faculty have anticipated the situation by putting classes online, increasing the portion to be delivered online, or coming up with ways to limit the numbers of individuals gathering and the space allowances between individuals. If you are registered for fall classes, please be aware of the following health and safety precautions in place:

• Fall classes will run as determined and approved by deans and directors, the vice president of Instruction and Student Support, and the vice president of Corporate and Community Education.
• Posted signs that encourage wearing a mask, waiting six feet apart, and washing hands regularly. Students should bring their own masks.The College will have a limited number of disposable masks available for distribution by division/department administrative assistants.
• Keeping an updated COVID-19 web page
• Following Health Department protocols for quarantines when required
• Added additional wipe-downs to cleanse classrooms and restrooms between class sessions, particularly doorknobs, keyboards, and surfaces. Sanitization of hallway door handles, surfaces frequently touched in common areas, and bathrooms will occur multiple times a day.
• Use of Ryobi spray sanitizer backpacks to clean surfaces
• Expecting Temperature Verification Kiosks for self-checking temperatures at busiest classroom building lobbies by August 25
• Scheduling classes and meetings to accommodate six-foot social distancing
• Requiring face coverings/masks on campus
• Making accommodations for individuals with documented health conditions or special circumstances
• Checking temperatures with touchless thermometers in classes where close contact is required
• Positioning hand-sanitizer stations strategically across campus
• Hanging plexiglass shields over help desks and reception areas with high public contact

Per the CDC guidelines, institutes of higher education (IHE) vary considerably in geographic location, size, and structure. As such, university officials should determine, in collaboration with state and local health officials, whether to implement any testing strategy, and if so, how to best do so.

When testing might be needed:

The CDC describes these scenarios when colleges may need to conduct SARS-CoV-2 viral testing for students, faculty, or staff, though ultimate determinations for such a test rest with IHEs in consultation with local health officials:

• Testing individuals with signs or symptoms consistent with COVID-19
• Testing asymptomatic individuals with recent known or suspected exposure to SARS-CoV-2 to control transmission

Testing individuals with signs or symptoms consistent with COVID-19

Consistent with CDC’s recommendations, individuals with COVID-19 signs or symptoms should be referred to a healthcare provider for evaluation on whether testing is needed. In some locations, individuals can also visit their state or local health department’s website to look for the latest local information on testing.

One strategy to identify individuals with COVID-19 signs or symptoms is to conduct daily symptom screening such as temperature screening and/or symptom checking for students, faculty, and staff. However, because symptom screenings are not helpful for identification of individuals with COVID-19 who may be asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic, symptom screening alone will not prevent all individuals with COVID-19 from entering the IHE.

IHE administrators and healthcare providers should immediately separate students, faculty, or staff with COVID-19 symptoms by providing distance learning options, isolation rooms in dormitories or other housing facilities, and providing alternative food service arrangements for those who live on campus. As part of symptom screenings, IHEs should be prepared to refer symptomatic individuals to an appropriate health care provider who will determine when viral testing for SARS-CoV-2 is appropriate.

IHEs can encourage individuals with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 to go to their place of residence, a designated isolation housing location (if living on-campus), or a healthcare facility depending on how severe their symptoms are, and follow CDC guidance for caring for oneself. IHEs can also encourage individuals to watch for emergency symptoms and seek emergency medical care if these symptoms occur.

Testing asymptomatic individuals with recent known or suspected exposure to a person with COVID-19

Testing is recommended for all close contacts of persons diagnosed with COVID-19:

• Because of the potential for asymptomatic and/or pre-symptomatic transmission, it is important that contacts of individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 be quickly identified and tested. Feasibility of identifying and testing close contacts will likely vary by IHE and their local context.
• Additionally, in accordance with state and local laws and regulations, IHEs should work with local health officials to inform those who have had close contact with a person diagnosed with COVID-19 to wear cloth face coverings if they are able, quarantine in their living quarters or a designated housing location, and self-monitor for symptoms for 14 days.

In some settings, broader testing, beyond close contacts, is recommended as a part of a strategy to control transmission of SARS-CoV-2:

• In IHEs, residence halls, laboratory facilities, and lecture rooms may be settings with the potential for rapid and pervasive spread of the virus.
• Expanded testing might include testing of all people who were in proximity of an individual confirmed to have COVID-19 (e.g., those who shared communal spaces or bathrooms), or testing all individuals within a shared setting (e.g., testing all residents on a floor or an entire residence hall). Testing in these situations can be helpful because in high density settings it can be particularly challenging to accurately identify everyone who had close contact with an individual confirmed to have COVID-19. For example, students who do not know each other could potentially be close contacts if they are both in a shared communal space.
• IHEs might want to consider that some people are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19. Everyone is at risk for getting COVID-19 if they are exposed to the virus, but some people are more likely than others to become severely ill, which means that they may require hospitalization, intensive care, or a ventilator to help them breathe, or they may even die.
• Decisions about the level of risk and the scope of testing should be made in coordination with state, territorial, Tribal, and local health officials.

Testing asymptomatic individuals without known exposure to a person with COVID-19

Testing of all students, faculty and staff for COVID-19 before allowing campus entry (entry testing) has not been systematically studied. It is unknown if entry testing in IHEs provides any additional reduction in person-to-person transmission of the virus beyond what would be expected with implementation of other infection preventive measures (e.g., social distancing, cloth face covering, hand washing, enhanced cleaning and disinfection). Therefore, CDC does not recommend entry testing of all returning students, faculty, and staff.

Carteret CC students and employees can be tested for COVID-19 by their physician or at county health departments.

Carteret County Health Department (252)728-8550

Onslow County Health Department (910)347-2154

Craven County Health Department (252)636-4920

Employees who participate in the State Health Plan (BCBS) clan can be tested by their primary physician at no charge, if it is medically necessary.

Carteret CC has created a process for students, faculty, and staff to self-report COVID-19 cases. If you experience COVID-19 symptoms, test positive for COVID-19 (or a health care provider tells you that you are presumed positive), or if someone in your immediate household tests positive, please notify the College by filling out the self-report form at Carteret.edu/covid19. This procedure is voluntary, and the information submitted will be shared only with limited College officials to make a determination if additional cleaning and other response actions need to be taken on campus. Employees should also notify their supervisor and contact Human Resources regarding eligibility for COVID-19 leave provisions that are currently in effect. Please note that completing the form does not serve as notification to your supervisor that you are not available for work.  

If you do not have internet access at the time which you need to report your case, Students should call 252-222-6021 and Employees should call 252-222-6225 to complete the report.

Contact tracing is the systematic identification and monitoring of all persons who are a close contact of a person diagnosed with COVID-19 during their infectious period. In instances where a Carteret CC student or employee reports testing positive or feeling ill, the College will take preliminary steps to understand whether other members of the Carteret CC community may have been exposed through close contact (e.g., will ask about roommates, close co-workers) and may ask that they be tested and/or self quarantine as a precaution.  The formal process of contact tracing is conducted by the county health department and starts once someone tests positive for COVID-19. The College will assist with this process by providing information regarding schedules, living/working locations, and known activities on campus.  If the county health department determines you to be a close contact of someone who has tested positive, you will receive a phone call from NC OUTREACH (844-628-7223) or the local health department. It is important that you answer or return this call. To see how the contact tracing process works, review this sample contact tracing case.

Yes. Because COVID-19 is spread through droplets when an infected person speaks, coughs, or sneezes, one of the most important tools we have in this fight are face coverings. Following CDC guidance, and per the newly issued statement by the NC Community College System, we have modified our expectations for faculty, staff, and students and will make face coverings mandatory at Carteret CC, effective immediately.

Every faculty and staff member and student must wear a face covering that covers their nose and mouth while indoors – including in classrooms, libraries, auditoriums, and meeting spaces. These may be cloth/reusable or disposable. Employees may remove their face coverings when alone in their individual offices. Face coverings are also required outdoors in situations where appropriate social distancing cannot be maintained. Students, faculty, and staff are required to have a face covering with them whenever they are on campus. We are also requiring visitors and guests to honor our efforts to keep our campus community safe; as such, these policies apply to all visitors, vendors, and independent contractors.

Face coverings will be provided to faculty and staff; employees who have questions about how to obtain face coverings should speak with their department head/chair or supervisor. Carteret CC students are required to bring their own face coverings provided they meet CDC guidelines. If students do not have one they can pick one up at Student Services located in the McGee Building. Carteret CC employees will be provided with a face mask. Employees may also use their own face coverings, provided they meet CDC guidelines and, are appropriate for the workplace.

This novel virus has forced all of us to adopt new patterns of behavior that are sometimes awkward and uncomfortable. We need to work together to reinforce the importance of engaging in all of the behaviors we know prevent the spread of the virus – hand washing, staying home when ill, social distancing, wearing face coverings, and showing we care about each other by doing what is right to help fight COVID-19. We are relying on members of our community to adhere to these standards, but when necessary, we also will enforce these behaviors. This will include asking students who do not have a face covering to leave the classroom, campus building, or other venue and only return when they have a face covering. Students who continue to violate this policy may be subject to further action per the Student Code of Conduct. Similarly, employees who do not wear a face covering may be subject to disciplinary action based on our policies regarding employee performance and behaviors in the workplace.

Students who seek an exception to this policy because they are unable to wear a face covering due to a medical condition should contact Counseling Services at (252) 222-6237; employees with a similar request should contact Human Resources at (252) 222-6225.  Exceptions may be made on a case by case basis to facilitate teaching and learning in specific environments.

In addition to requiring face coverings, we have many other protocols in place to address the health of our students and employees, including:

• All students and employees are to monitor themselves for symptoms prior to coming to work or the classroom.
• Testing is available for students and employees through their health care provider, community-based clinics, and local health departments. Students and employees are asked to use a self-reporting tool if they are ill and/or have been tested.

Yes, paper face coverings may be used for days to weeks, depending on the level of use.

• Do not attempt to wash or use disinfectant chemicals on a paper face coverings.
• Store face coverings in a clean, dry location between uses.
• Replace face coverings when they become dirty, worn, or restrictive to air flow.

The health and safety of our community comes first in our decision-making.

Academic Calendar
We have adjusted our academic calendar to minimize mass student travel during the semester and reduce spread of the virus.

• Classes will start on August 17 as previously scheduled.

Course Delivery
In order to maximize schedule flexibility, practice social distancing in our learning spaces, and ensure in-person access as much as possible, we will deliver classes using a variety of methods: in-person, online, and a hybrid of both. Our efforts include:

• Improving our capabilities to provide more, and better, online learning experiences and support services.
• Investing in a sophisticated new video platform that allows recording, webcasting, and video content management for distance learning in virtually every learning space on campus.
• Shifting classes that were originally scheduled as face-to-face to online and restructuring sections to a hybrid format.
• Reducing the time some students spend face-to-face in the classroom by as much as two-thirds.

We want students and families to have choices based on their needs and preferences. Please check your schedules as soon as possible.

Classroom Changes
We are making a range of physical adjustments to classroom settings, including:

• All in-person classes will be socially distanced, with all participants wearing face coverings.
• Classrooms and hallways will be cleaned intensively and frequently.
• Students will be able to maintain distancing in our shuttles on the way to and from classes.
• Managing traffic in hallways and staggering the way people enter and leave classrooms.
• Providing other physical protections and barriers where appropriate, adding hand sanitizer stations, etc.

Required Face Coverings
As previously announced and consistent with state, local, and NC Community College System requirements, we have modified our expectations for students, faculty, and staff – face coverings are mandatory at Carteret CC, effective immediately.

• Every student, faculty, and staff member must wear a face covering that covers their nose and mouth while indoors on campus – including in classrooms, libraries, auditoriums, and meeting spaces.
• Face coverings are also required outdoors in situations where appropriate social distancing cannot be maintained.
• Face coverings are available to students and employees.
• Students who seek an exception to this policy because they are unable to wear a face covering due to a medical condition should contact Counseling Services at (252) 222-6237.

Additional Health and Safety Guidance
In addition to requiring face coverings, we have many other protocols in place to address the health of our students and employees, including:

• All students and employees are to monitor themselves for symptoms per CDC guidelines prior to coming to work or the classroom.
• Testing is available for students and employees through their health care provider, community-based clinics, and county health departments. Students and employees are asked to use a self-reporting tool if they are ill and/or have been tested.

Quarantine and Isolation Facilities
Following guidelines from Carteret County Health Department and recommendations from the CDC, students who are exposed to a known case of COVID-19 or who become ill will be asked to return home. If a student is unable to travel or has other extenuating circumstances, a limited number of quarantine and isolation spaces are available on campus, and a protocol is in place to support them.

Enhanced Cleaning Protocols across Campus
Carteret CC is implementing a wide range of new cleaning protocols across our campus to help limit the spread of COVID-19. This will include more frequent cleaning of all spaces with a focus on common areas, frequently touched surfaces, and locations where the virus may be more likely to spread.

Campus Events
To support the community safety standards we are putting in place, events will be extremely limited and subject to statewide limitations around crowd size.

• A number of traditional campus events will be redesigned to facilitate social distancing and take advantage of technology to connect people
• Conference and meeting facilities will have extremely limited access.
• If you have planned an event or have an expectation for a traditional campus event, please be sure to check with your campus contact for updates.

Protect Our Students
It will take all of us together to keep our community safe and healthy. The primary way COVID-19 spreads is through person-to-person contact, so our best hope of preventing its spread is by changing the way we behave. We will expect students to show care for their friends, peers, colleagues, and neighbors. This means students are required to wear face coverings when close to others, wash their hands often and properly, and practice social distancing.

Carteret CC is in frequent contact with Carteret County Health Department, the NC Community College System, state and federal officials, and other experts as we move forward. If the situation, our knowledge, or the guidance changes, we will be ready to adapt and flexible in making decisions that keep the health of our students and employees – especially those most at risk – and our community at the forefront of our decision making.

Fall semester will continue as planned according to the 2020-2021 Academic Calendar.

Course Delivery
Carteret Community College will run a mix of seated, hybrid, synchronous, and online classes this fall.  The Curriculum and CCED VPs, deans, and directors are putting together a comprehensive list of courses with definitions of the above categories and a guide to section numbers so students (and advisors) know what mode of delivery they are signing up for.

In order to maximize schedule flexibility, practice social distancing in our learning spaces, and ensure in-person access as much as possible, we will deliver classes using a variety of methods including those mentioned above. Our efforts include:

• Improving our capabilities to provide more, and better, online learning experiences and support services.
• Investing in a sophisticated new video platform that allows recording, webcasting, and video content management for distance learning in virtually every learning space on campus.

• Shifting classes that were originally scheduled as face-to-face to online and restructuring sections to a hybrid format.

• Reducing the time some students spend face-to-face in the classroom by as much as two-thirds.

We want students and families to have choices based on their needs and preferences. Please check your schedules as soon as possible.

Classroom Changes
We are making a range of physical adjustments to classroom settings, including:

• All in-person classes will be socially distanced, with all participants wearing face coverings.
• Classrooms and hallways will be cleaned intensively and frequently.
• Managing traffic in hallways and staggering the way people enter and leave classrooms.

Providing other physical protections and barriers where appropriate, adding hand sanitizer stations, etc.

Following guidelines from Carteret County Health Department and recommendations from the CDC, students who are exposed to a known case of COVID-19 or who become ill will be asked to return home. Furthermore, students exposed to a known case of COVID-19 or experiencing COVID-19 symptoms should complete the COVID-19 Self Reporting Form.

Per local health department, NCDHHS, and CDC recommendations, overnight, out-of-area travel requires a 10-day self-quarantine before returning to campus, even if you are not experiencing symptoms and are not aware that you had close contract with someone who is COVID positive.  The quarantine period can be reduced by taking a post-trip COVID test and presenting negative results to the College.

Students who engage in overnight, out-of-area travel should contact each course instructor to arrange for continuation of coursework during the required quarantine period.

Individuals desiring testing should contact your primary care physician, several area pharmacies or your local health department for free testing options.

Available Testing Resources:

Carteret County Health Department (252) 728-8550
Onslow County Health Department (910) 347-2154
Craven County Health Department (252) 636-4920

The following actions are part of Carteret CC’s COVID-19 Cleaning Plan to help fight the spread of COVID-19:

• Disinfect high-touch surfaces multiple times per day in public areas including door knobs/handles, elevator call buttons, door push-plates, stairway railings, etc.
• Increase classroom surface cleaning and disinfection from daily to multiple times a day as allowed by class schedule.
• Restroom disinfection will occur multiple times per day by adding disinfecting to normal bathroom checks.
• Increase use of machine-aided cleaning systems in heavily used restrooms.
• Disinfecting wipes will also be available for faculty and staff to wipe down their office areas.
• Housekeeping will clean and disinfect offices on a weekly basis and could increase cleaning and disinfection of offices in cooperation with occupants and building contacts.

To support the community safety standards, events will be extremely limited and subject to statewide limitations around crowd size.

• A number of traditional campus events will be redesigned to facilitate social distancing and take advantage of technology to connect people.
• Conference and meeting facilities will have extremely limited access.
• If you want to plan an event or have an expectation for a traditional campus event, please be sure to check with your campus contact for updates.

Research as of April 16, 2020 from the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the virus can survive up to 72 hours on some surfaces, including plastic and cardboard, but in most instances, the risk of infection resulting from contact with a contaminated surface is unlikely after a few days.

It may be possible that a person can get COVID-19 by touching a surface or object that has the virus on it and then touching their own mouth, nose, or possibly their eyes, but this is not thought to be the main way the virus spreads.  Use good hand hygiene and avoid touching your face to reduce the risk.

Every day, before coming to work, you should screen yourself for COVID-19 symptoms per CDC guidelines and check your temperature. If you experience COVID-19 symptoms or do not feel well for any reason, you should not report to work. Instead, you should call your primary care provider and notify your supervisor. If you are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, you should complete the COVID-19 Self Reporting Form.

If you experience COVID-19 symptoms, test positive for COVID-19 (or a health care provider tells you that you are presumed positive), or if someone in your immediate household tests positive, please notify the university by filling out the COVID-19 Self Reporting Form. This procedure is voluntary, and the information submitted will be shared only with limited College officials to make a determination if additional cleaning and other response actions need to be taken on campus. Employees should also notify their supervisor and contact Human Resources regarding eligibility for COVID-19 leave provisions that are currently in effect. Please note that completing the form does not serve as notification to your supervisor that you are not available for work.  

If you do not have internet access at the time which you need to report your case, employees should call 252-222-6225 to complete the report.

While travel for College business is still suspended, we recognize that many of you may travel for personal reasons.  Following is the College’s requirements for those who choose or need to travel overnight out of the area.

Per local health department, NCDHHS, and CDC recommendations, overnight, out-of-area travel requires a 10-day self-quarantine before returning to campus, even if you are not experiencing symptoms and are not aware that you had close contract with someone who is COVID positive.  The quarantine period can be reduced by taking a post-trip COVID test and presenting negative results to the College.

Employees should discuss travel plans ahead of your trip when possible with your direct supervisor to plan for remote working activities during the post-trip quarantine to ensure that you are prepared to work without returning to campus until the end of the quarantine period.  If travel is not foreseeable, please contact your direct supervisor upon return before coming to campus to determine work options during the required quarantine period.   For employees who elect to shorten the 10-day period by taking a COVID test, those results, positive or negative, should be confidentially submitted to Amanda Bryant, HR Director.  If the test result is positive additional quarantine will apply, and other paid leave provisions may be available as appropriate for the circumstances.

Students who engage in overnight, out-of-area travel should contact each course instructor to arrange for continuation of coursework during the required quarantine period.

Individuals desiring testing should contact your primary care physician, several area pharmacies or your local health department for free testing options.

Available Testing Resources:

 Carteret County Health Department (252)728-8550

Onslow County Health Department (910)347-2154

Craven County Health Department (252)636-4920

Carteret CC supervisors should report positive COVID-19 cases to Amanda Bryant in Human Resources at (252) 222-6225. In addition to a supervisor reporting a positive case to Human Resources, employees that have COVID-19 symptoms, has tested positive for COVID-19, or someone in their immediate household has tested positive, are to report that information by filling out the COVID-19 Self Reporting Form.

Information submitted will be shared only with limited College officials to make a determination if additional cleaning and other response actions need to be taken on campus. Supervisors should also refer employees to the Human Resources Department to determine eligibility for COVID-19 leave provisions.

Employees are required to wear a face covering that covers the nose and mouth whenever they are inside, or outside and unable to maintain a minimum of six feet of physical distancing, and when interacting with or near others such as in hallways, stairwells, elevators, restrooms, kitchens and when sharing a vehicle.

Students who seek an exception to this policy because they are unable to wear a face covering due to a medical condition should contact Counseling Services at (252) 222-6237; employees with a similar request should contact Human Resources at (252) 222-6225.  Exceptions may be made on a case by case basis to facilitate teaching and learning in specific environments.

Yes, departments will be supplied with face coverings for their employees, upon request.

Public health officials have identified people as “high-risk” for contracting COVID-19 and experiencing greater complications as those who meet any of the following criteria or who may care for someone with any of the following criteria:

• are over 65 years of age,
• have underlying health conditions including heart disease, lung disease, kidney disease, or diabetes,
• are pregnant, and/or
• have weakened immune systems.

Employees meeting the above criteria who have concerns about their work arrangements should contact Amanda Bryant at (252) 222-6225 in Human Resources to discuss responsible accommodations.