Campus COVID-19 Response
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CARES Act HEERF Report on Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students (Click Here)
COVID-19 Response
COVID POLICY Update for Summer 2021
Click here for President Ann Filemyr’s Spring 21 Message
Beginning Monday, November 16, Governor Michelle Lujan-Grisham has issued a new Stay at Home Health Order for two weeks. It may be extended. Closing non-essential businesses, ending indoor dining, and other mandates are part of this new health order.
For today’s press release:
https://cv.nmhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/111320-PHO-1.pdf
The immediate impact on Southwestern College and Tierra Nueva Counseling Center is that we will close both facilities. On campus this only impacts the Quimby Memorial Library. Students may access library resources online. See the website for more details:
https://www.swc.edu/about-the-library/
Please everyone continue to take precautions. I am so proud of our community and how we are pulling together to support each other through this pandemic.
Thank you,
President Ann Filemyr
September 10, 2020
COVID-safe practices on Campus for Fall Quarter 2020
FALL COURSES
All courses will be offered online this fall. Classes begin Monday, September 21.
To view the course schedule:
https://www.swc.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020FallSchedule_12.pdf
CAMPUS GROUNDS
We welcome you onto our campus grounds, Monday-Friday, 9 am to 5 pm. You may sit in our gardens, walk the New Earth Labyrinth, contemplate the Art Therapy Capstone murals, walk the path and enjoy the Community Garden behind TNCC. You do not need to make an appointment. We ask that you maintain physical distance of 6 feet and you must wear a mask inside any buildings and outdoors unless you are working alone in an office or working alone outside.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT CAMPUS RESOURCES
For more information about fall quarter, including accessing the campus Art Studio and other community-building campus opportunities, please read the President’s Fall Welcome Letter:
https://www.swc.edu/wp-content/uploads/September-1-President-Letter
COVID-19 RESOURCES FOR STUDENTS
Student Services has curated a COVID-19 resource list available to students via Populi.
Access it here: https://swc.populiweb.com/router/groups/3775/members/index
WHEN TO TEST
If you have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, please seek testing and quarantine until you know the results of our test.
If you have a temperature or are not feeling well, please do not come to campus. Seek medical attention, including COVID-19 testing.
In New Mexico, anyone may request a test WHETHER SYMPTOMATIC OR ASYMPTOMATIC. Here is the link for more information:
https://cvprovider.nmhealth.org/directory.html
MANDATORY COVID-19 REPORTING
If you test positive for COVID-19, please inform us as we will participate with state requirements for Rapid Response or other mandates.
Staff and Faculty, please report to Allison Frank, allisonfrank@swc.edu
Students, please report to Virginia Padilla-Vigil vpvigil@swc.edu
LIBRARY
Weekly schedule: Online only: Monday & Wednesday 10AM – 4PM askthelibrary@swc.edu
On-Campus Services: Tuesday & Thursday 10AM – 4PM: By Appointment Only.
Library Services are unavailable Saturday and Sunday.
Students, faculty and staff who wish to use the library must schedule an appointment using https://calendly.com/quimbymemoriallibrary or by calling 505-467-6825 or emailing library@swc.edu
The following services are available when open:
- Use of the media center, including computers and printer
- Work in the library
- Pick up books and other media
Please email us at askthelibrary@swc.edu with any questions related to library access, remote and on-site services, information/resource retrieval, and really anything else. We’re here to help. The library is offering remote, free access to seventeen of the required textbooks for the fall quarter. The complete list of ebooks is available here: https://www.swc.edu/fall-2020- ebooks/
and in the “Fall 2020 ebooks” discussion thread in the Library Group in Populi ( https://swc.populiweb.com/router/groups/764/dashboard ).
Also available in the Library Group (in the “Remotely Accessible Academic Databases”) are portals to two databases (EBSCOhost and Taylor & Francis Online), which are accessible from anywhere and carry a wealth of academic articles, reporting on research into the behavioral sciences, art therapy, and a world of other subjects. Other discussion threads in the library group offer instructional media, links and resources for APA support, general reference, effective practices for database use, online research, and more.
QUARANTINE
The state maintains a 14-day quarantine for out of country travel. Please do not come to campus unless you have completed this 14 day stay at home quarantine.
For additional information about state restrictions, please view this link:
CURRENT NEW MEXICO SOCIAL DISTANCING AND TRAVEL RESTRICTIONS (Click Here)
June 22, 2020
Fall Quarter
Despite uncertainty regarding what the state of New Mexico mandates will be when classes begin Monday, September 21, the Academic Council has unanimously agreed to offer classes in multiple ways to the extent possible for Fall Quarter. It is our desire to give students as much choice as is possible at this time. We are hopeful about the future, and this plan represents our hope and desire for fall quarter.
Students will be able to select whether they want to study online or in-person for most classes. However, classes with only one section will ONLY be offered online.
Students who want to take all of their classes online should opt for EARLY REGISTRATION. The due date to submit a request for Early Registration will be August 7. Students will receive a letter inviting them to apply for Early Registration from registrar Andrea Pacheco. Students should complete the form and email it in by the August 7 deadline.
Otherwise fall registration will proceed as scheduled September 1-4, 2020. Students who prefer to study online should not wait to register as online classes may be filled. Instead please complete the Early Registration request.
It is our sincere hope that by offering students options for fall study, we can meet different student needs. We conducted student surveys of both our continuing students and our incoming class to help us arrive at this decision. Thank you for participating.
Summer Quarter
Summer classes begin online June 22. This summer the campus is undergoing a ‘soft re-opening.’
The following protocols are to be followed:
- All faculty, staff, clients, visitors, and students are required to wear a face mask or face shield everywhere on campus except for individual staff members in the privacy of their own offices.
- Physical distance of six feet at all times in all locations.
- Frequent use of hand sanitizer (provided throughout campus).
- Frequent hand washing.
- Admissions staff are permitted to provide on-campus tours following this protocol. Prospective students may contact Admissions to schedule. admissions@swc.edu
- The buildings remain closed and locked. If you need access, please contact Dianne Deloren or Angela Harris in the front office. officemgr@swc.edu
- You may purchase books from the bookstore via Populi. Then schedule with Dianne to pick your books up. They may also be mailed to you. DianneDeloren@swc.edu
- The front and side entrances of the main campus now have locked gates. The front gate is open Monday-Friday 9 am to 5 pm. The campus is closed on weekends.
- You may sit in the main campus gardens or walk the labyrinth maintaining a minimum of six feet physical distance.
- The altar in Memory of Lee Cartwright, beloved alumni and healer, is available in the campus garden beside the Kuan Yin statue, Monday-Friday 9 am – 5 pm from June 23 through July 7.
- Tierra Nueva Counseling Center (TNCC) is slowly re-opening for clients. Protocols are here: https://www.tierranuevacounseling.org/
- The Quimby Memorial Library will re-open for limited hours. Please schedule an appointment and receive permission prior to entering the building. There is a library protocol posted at the door and one will be posted on the QML section of the website. You may continue to access library resources from a distance. Questions? Email askthelibrary@swc.edu
- Most staff continue to work from home. If you need to contact an individual staff person, please email them.
- Thermometers are available in the front office if you are concerned about your temperature. If your temperature is above normal, please leave campus immediately and seek medical assistance as needed.
- Disposable gloves and paper masks are available in the front office.
By coming onto campus, you are indicating that you do not have a fever and have not been exposed to someone with the coronavirus in the past 14 days. You are affirming that you have not traveled by air in the past 14 days.
On our end, we are continuing to provide:
- Hand sanitizer available in various inside locations throughout campus.
- Disposable face masks and gloves in the front office.
- Disposable wipes as they are available.
- Increased cleaning services and sanitizing of all surfaces.
- Limited access to the buildings.
- Weekday access only to the grounds.
In this uncertain time, we are doing our best to meet student and client needs, fulfill our educational mission, and follow protocols for health and safety. We are complying with state mandates, CDC guidelines, and New Mexico Department of Health requirements.
We continue to keep our values forefront in our minds: service, empowerment, mindfulness, partnership and love. We extend our heartfelt sympathy to individuals, families and communities facing loss from this pandemic. We are aware of the patterns of social inequity and racial injustice that have resulted in communities of color suffering more illness and death from the coronavirus. We recommit ourselves to advocacy work, alliance-building and lifting our voices to speak for justice so that safety, freedom from the fear of violence, and adequate access to healthcare become a human right in this country.
We will provide additional COVID-19 updates as needed.
Thank you,
President Ann Filemyr
Link to NM Department of Health COVID-19 Information Site
A Message to Our Students About Summer 2020 (Click here for details)
April 23, 2020
Dear Students and SWC Community,
We have learned that our Governor, Michelle Lujan-Grisham, will be extending the current mandate until May 15. This includes the requirement to stay-at-home unless you need to go out for reasons of maintaining health and wellness or unless you are an essential worker. Current state mandates include wearing a face mask when you are out in public. Gloves are also recommended. Social distancing requirements of staying six feet apart in public and limiting social gatherings to five or fewer people will now be extended to May 15. It is possible that these requirements will be extended again later in May. We will continue to follow the lead of our state governor in keeping all New Mexicans as safe and healthy as possible
The leadership of Southwestern College is aware that our students need to know whether our summer quarter, which begins the third week of June, will be via distance or whether we can resume our preference for face to face classes. We are reviewing all of our options and will be making a decision and communicating to our student body within the first week of May, no later than May 3, a few weeks prior to summer registration, which begins May 20.
Additionally, we are looking ahead to the fall quarter. Again it is our strong preference to offer our classes face-to-face in the fall. We will be making the decision regarding fall classes by mid-June, and then we will communicate it clearly to our students.
We know we will need to make these decisions regarding summer and fall in the absence of clear direction from the state. There is much uncertainty about when and how to relax the current mandates regarding social distance and re-open non-essential businesses. We are doing our best to anticipate the future and make good decisions for our students and for the future of the college.
The leadership team at the college is doing our research, tracking what is happening in the state and the nation in higher education institutions, and we are carefully considering all of our options. First and foremost, we are listening to the needs of our current students and our incoming class. We are doing our best with the information at hand. I apologize that it is taking time.
The reason we exist as a college and why each one of us enjoys our work is because of the incredible relationships and connections we have with our students. Our students come first, and we are very aware of the many challenges our students are facing at this time. Some now prefer to learn online maintaining physical distance, and others definitely want to return to the face to face classroom experience as soon as possible. We hear you, and we understand the myriad reasons why. Making decisions right now requires a level of negotiating with complexity, and there are few simple answers. Ultimately, we also understand our responsibility to make the best decisions possible for the health and well-being of our college community.
In the meantime, we have created a social media space for our artistic and creative sharing. It is a new Facebook group called the “SWC Creative Commons.” We invite all of you to join. Below is a link to my blog about it. And below that is the link to the Facebook group. Please join. Even though we cannot sit together, we can share our creativity giving voice to our experiences at this time.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/swc.creative.commons/
Thank you,
President Ann Filemyr
April 09, 2020
Late this afternoon our Governor issued a new order, Stay at Home, with instructions. This order is in effect through April 30. The full text of the new order can be seen at this link:
We will comply with this order to the full extent possible for the protection of our health and the health of our community. We are asking everyone to work from home.
We will each do our part to move toward greater reliance on distant technologies to aid our communication and connection. We remain committed to serving our students and our TNCC clients. We are facilitating online classes for our students since Monday, March 30. Information regarding whether or not we can offer NEI Certificate classes online is forthcoming. We are now providing telehealth/telephonic counseling services to our clients.
SWC and TNCC will responded by closing the campus and the counseling center to all staff beginning Tuesday, March 24 at 8 a.m. If staff have any questions or concerns about this, please contact your supervisor. Staff will be paid as usual.
All meetings, trainings, etc. that any staff are required to participate in will be conducted via zoom. The faculty zoom training will be held Wednesday night BY ZOOM ONLY. Please contact Dean of the College Virginia Padilla-Vigil with any questions: virginiapadillavigil@swc.edu
As classes begin March 30 we fully intend to comply with state health orders. All classes will be held via zoom. We do not know yet how long our classes will be conducted via zoom. Faculty will work closely with their students to provide a supportive learning environment in this new method. Students will be able to zoom throughout the quarter if they choose to even if we are able to return to face to face classes later this Spring. This is new for all of us, and we will be learning together how to connect, communicate and continue our commitment to transformational teaching and learning.
- The library will be closed.
- Faculty should contact Dean of the College Virginia Padilla Vigil to make arrangements for zoom coaching at virginiapadillavigil@swc.edu.
- Students who need assistance with zoom should contact IT Services Coordinator Seph Turnipseed, call or text: 505-710-4668 or email sephturnipseed@swc.edu.
- As a back-up to Seph or Virginia, contact Chief Technology Officer Donna Harrington, call or text: 505-514-1240 or email donnaharrington@swc.edu.
- Students seeking additional support should contact Director of Student & Career Services Emilah Detoro, emilahdetoro@swc.edu or call 505-467-6603. Her office phone is forwarded to her home.
- Tierra Nueva Counseling Center employees should remain in close contact with TNCC Clinical Director Laura Lansrud-Lopez, lauralansrud-lopez@swc.edu.
We know these are challenging times. We will continue to do our best to respond to email and text messages in a timely manner. Thank you for your ability to be flexible, creative and responsive. Your willingness to do what is needed at this time is so appreciated!
Thank you,
President Ann Filemyr
Executive Vice President Katherine Ninos
Chief Financial Officer Allison Frank
Dean of the College Virginia Padilla-Vigil
Tierra Nueva Counseling Center Clinical Director Laura Lansrud-Lopez
Director of Student & Career Services Emilah De Toro