Southwest Returns to Campus Operations at Macon Cove and Union Avenue Locations July 8; Hosts Back to Campus Plan Virtual Town Hall Meeting June 15

June 13, 2020

For more information, contact: Diana Fedinec, Director of Public Relations and Media (901) 333-4247 dfedinec@southwest.tn.edu

Southwest Tennessee Community College will reopen its Macon Cove and Union Avenue campuses July 8, 2020, under the College’s Back to Campus Plan – Phase I. Students and employees will return to campus for the first time since the College went to all online operations and closed its physical locations March 24 due to the Coronavirus pandemic.

The public is invited to attend a Virtual Town Hall Meeting with President Dr. Tracy D. Hall and members of the College’s COVID-19 Task Force Monday, June 15, 10 a.m. – 11:30 a.m., to learn about Phase I of the reopening plan.

“The decisions we made in our Back to Campus Plan are meant to protect life,” Southwest President Dr. Tracy D. Hall said. “While enrollment, retention and completion remain priorities, we will continue to take due caution and will not jeopardize health and safety to achieve metrics.“
Southwest COVID-19 Task Force members developed the plan in accordance with the White House Opening Up America Again Plan and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines. The Back to Campus Plan outlines campus access, on-campus safety protocols, class attendance locations and more.

Access to the College will be limited. As a community college, many of Southwest’s programs are skills-based and require extensive laboratory time. Students taking career and technical classes that require face-to-face instruction will be allowed on campus. Lecture-based classes and student support services will remain online. In addition, only essential employees and vendors will be permitted to access campus and all Southwest locations will remain closed to the general public.

To ensure the health and safety of students and employees, the following health monitoring and other safety protocols will be mandatory for campus visitors:

Health screening questionnaire before each access
Body temperature screening
Face covering while on campus
Classroom and equipment sanitation every two hours

In addition, everyone will be expected to practice proper hand washing and social distancing, and to report any exposure to COVID-19 infection.
Southwest is vigilantly monitoring the pandemic and will continue to update the plan as necessary in response to this global public health crisis.

To join the virtual town hall meeting, click on the following Microsoft Teams meeting link:
Join live event on Microsoft Teams
+1 901-522-1234 United States, Memphis (Toll)
Conference ID: 482 837 214#

For more information about Southwest’s Coronavirus response, visit https://www.southwest.tn.edu/coronavirus/.