Thursday, April 23, 2020 at 4:00 PM

ON-CAMPUS UPDATE

On Thursday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced the current executive order directing North Carolina residents to stay at home to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 would be extended until Friday, May 8.

Due to the continued increase in number of cases of COVID-19 in the immediate area, the campus will maintain all parameters of the campus lockdown that went into effect on Thursday, April 9 at 5pm. The College will allow students starting Friday, April 24 to travel within a 7 mile radius only for purposes to gather groceries and/or other essential items.

RETURN & MOVE OUT PROTOCOL

For students moving off campus, the following plan is to accommodate those students who need to return to campus to retrieve their property, return keys and/or College books. If you only need to return books to the bookstore, you can choose to wait until we are able to reopen campus or mail your books back by August 1. All students who left personal property behind during the move to online classes are now required to return to campus to remove those items and return all school books and property. Please follow these guidelines when returning:

• See the schedule below for when to return
• You must sign up using the building link and provide date and time you wish to return and receive permission to return. This is to ensure we do not exceed the 10 person state law threshold on any floor at any time.
• Once you receive approval you may come with up to two (2) vehicles during your assigned time slot.
• You may bring ONLY one (1) assistant to come inside the building and assist you with your move out. Any other persons you bring MUST remain curbside and can only assist in loading your vehicle.
• You, as well as your one (1) assistant, need to have some type of face mask, bandana or covering on at all times in the building.
• You MUST park in the parking lot or street side- you may not park in the driveways or on the grass.
• IMPORTANT: For Petteway, Roberson, Pash and Collins residents
  Upon entering Petteway, Roberson, Pash or Collins Halls to move out, there will be one (1) set of steps designated as UP and one (1) designated as DOWN. This flow of foot traffic is important to maintaining social distancing and must be utilized and followed. The end door (emergency exit door) near the DOWN steps of each traditional Residence Hall shall be opened to facilitate this part of the plan. The emergency door near the UP steps will not be opened for this process.
• Upon move out, NCWC issued keys must be returned to the AD for the area. This include room, mailbox and bathroom keys (if applicable). Failure to return keys will result in charges being assessed to the account.
• For this move out, our normal policy of having a staff member check the room at the time of move out and receive the keys will not be able to be done. Rooms will be inspected after all move outs have occurred and any damage charges will be assessed and emails will be sent from the Residence Life staff no later than May 18.
• Items residents are throwing away need to be taken to the trash dumpsters that will be provided near Collins/Pash and near Petteway across from Roberson. Leaving trash in the hallways will result in a fine for residents.
• Please plan ahead and bring ALL supplies you need to move out including boxes, cleaning supplies and trash bags.

The policy of persons from outside of campus assisting not being allowed in any building (except your designated assistant) will not be waived for any reason. Also be advised that you and your designated assistant are ONLY allowed access to your residence hall. You are both prohibited from entering any other campus building. If you or any guest of yours violates this mandate the fine is $1,000.00.

BOOK RETURNS

Resident Students

Book returns for resident students will be conducted under the Hardees Student Union patio area. We strongly suggest you do this first to increase room in your vehicle. The Book Store will be CLOSED.

• Bring all books or other items “calculators, disk etc.” supplied by the College to the outdoor covered area during you assigned move out time.
• You need to wear your face covering and will be required to stand 6 feet apart – markings will be on the ground.
• You will be required to hold each book up so it can be scanned then you will place your books in the box, bin or location as directed.
• You may not have others stand with you in line.

Commuter Students

Instructions for commuter students to return books will be sent in 2 weeks. As of now the campus remains on lockdown while we are conducting a controlled move out for residential students. Congrats to our grads!

MOVE OUT SCHEDULE:

Remember you sign up using this link for your building (below) and selected the date/time you want to arrive and move out. There is a limited number of residents per building/floor for each time slot. If there are no additional spaces for your desired time, you will need to select another time. There are 6 time slots available per building.

In order to help manage parking and distancing we will have only select buildings checking out at each time slot. Boddie, Collins and Petteway are one group and then Roberson, Pash, Jin and Taylor. Every building will have 6 options.  

All students returning to move out from these halls will need to do so between April 30 and May 3rd. An email has been sent to each student and sign-up to move out should be done through the links provided in that email to choose a move out date/time.

April 30, May 1, 2, 3

Thursday, April 30
8:30am: Boddie, Collins, Petteway
11:30am: Jin, Taylor, Pash, Roberson
2:30pm: Boddie, Collins, Petteway

Friday, May 1
8:30am: Jin, Taylor, Pash, Roberson
11:30am: Boddie, Collins, Petteway
2:30pm: Jin, Taylor, Pash. Roberson

Saturday, May 2
8:30am: Boddie, Collins, Petteway
11:30am: Jin, Taylor, Pash, Roberson
2:30pm: Boddie, Collins, Petteway

Sunday, May 3
8:30am        Jin, Taylor, Pash, Roberson
11:30am      Boddie, Collins, Petteway
2:30pm        Jin, Taylor, Pash, Roberson

Villas at Wesleyan residents will hear from Jessie Langley directly with regards to their move out schedule.

Wesleyan Inn and Bradley residents will receive an email with specific instructions regards their move out schedule.

Monday, April 6, 2020 at 4:34 PM

Due to the increasing number of cases of COVID-19 in the immediate area and the projected peak of COVID-19 infection in the state of North Carolina, the campus will go on lockdown as of Thursday, April 9 at 5pm. Here is what the “campus lockdown” entails:

“Campus Lockdown” refers to the complete closure of traffic into and outside of main campus with the exception of essential employees

Limitations for Residential Students

• Residential students will not be permitted to leave campus.
• Residential students should not congregate in groups larger than 10.
• Residential students may continue to participate in non-contact outdoor activities or exercise in small groups while maintaining social distance protocols as set forth by the governor’s executive order on March 27, 2020.
• Residential students with known exposure to a person with a person testing positive for COVID-19 will be placed in quarantine areas for at least 14 days.Should a quarantined student test positive for COVID-19, the campus would move into a Tier V “Shelter in Place” Response.

Campus Resources

• The cafeteria will remain on the brunch/dinner schedule until further notice.
• Necessities (personal hygiene products, and medicines) will be made available to residential students by the College.
• The Library will be closed for at least 7 days. Librarians are available remotely to assist students with work assignments.
• The Writing Center continues to operate online.
• GTC computer labs will remain open; no more than 10 persons may be in any lab at a time.

Limitations for Visitors

• Visitors will be not be permitted (exceptions: health emergencies, utility-related work [including A/C repair], and construction-related workers).
• Commuter students are limited to the GTC computer labs (with the exception of those who are still working on campus). No entrance to other campus buildings. Study groups or group meetings cannot meet in the residence halls if any members are not residents.
• Faculty and non-essential staff that have not been coming to campus regularly must notify and receive permission from the Provost’s or President’s offices prior to arrival.
• Food deliveries must be picked up at the main entrance of the GTC.

Important Considerations for Residential Students

• If you plan to leave campus to celebrate the Easter holiday between Friday, April 10-12, we encourage you to consider moving out of your room before you leave. You will not be able to come back to campus otherwise until we have cleared all students to return.
• Should the federal government, state of North Carolina, Nash County, or the City of Rocky Mount mandate curfews and/or travel restrictions, this could impact your ability to move out and leave campus by April 26. We are not telling you to leave but do want you to be aware that you could be restricted from leaving in the near future given more restrictive government protocols.
• Upon the official notification of campus lockdown, any violation to residence life policies will incur a $250 fine and/or removal from campus housing. This includes visitation restrictions, drug or alcohol violations, etc. If students who have left campus to return to the residence halls, the $1000 fine still applies.

Moving to a Tier V response level is for your protection and the protection of College staff. While you may not suffer severe effects of the virus should you get it (you may never even have symptoms), passing it to someone else could result in far more serious effects. We absolutely need your cooperation during this time. This is not what anyone wanted to see come of the Spring semester, but it is our responsibility to keep each other safe.

Stay safe and well!
Dr. Wyatt

Sunday, March 29, 2020 3:14 PM Update

On Friday, North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper announced an executive order directing North Carolina residents to stay at home to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. The order takes effect tomorrow, 5pm, Monday, March 30 at 5pm, and remains in effect for 30 days. The College is considered an essential business and will continue to operate to support our educational mission, current ongoing classes, and our students.

This stay-at-home order applies to students residing on campus as well as those living off-campus nearby, as well as all others in the state.

During the next 30 days, you should not leave your house, apartment, or residence except to get food, medicine or necessary supplies; exercise outdoors; to take care of others in need or do volunteer service; or to perform other essential functions outlined in the executive order. You should also continue to practice all social distancing* requirements described in the order.

To further protect you from COVID-19 exposure, we will be making the following recommendations and implementing new parameters effective immediately:

Important Information and Recommendations:

• Residential students should not engage in unnecessary travel within the 30-day period of the governor’s executive order. Please take this into consideration of any and all plans you make; these plans should only be to travel to one’s permanent residence outside of campus. If a residential student wishes to return to their permanent residence off campus, they should do so as soon as possible.
• Students, staff, and faculty should utilize virtual methods of communication if at all possible. (email, phone calls, Teams/Zoom video meetings)
• Residential students on main campus in Rocky Mount may leave their rooms but should not congregate in groups larger than 10 while maintaining appropriate social distance* indoors and outdoors.
• Any students who leave campus without an authorized reason (per executive order) are subject to prosecution for violation of state law and punishable by a Class 2 misdemeanor (as per North Carolina General Statutes §166A-19.30(d) and §14-288.20A.
• Students, faculty, and staff should carry their college ID should they need to travel to or from the college.

Parameters (and Effective Dates)

• Limit residence hall visitation hours to 12am instead of 2am (as Friday, March 27). Floor-to-floor and Hall-to-Hall visitation outside of these hours is not permitted. Residence hall visitation violations will be subject to a $1,000 fine as of Sunday, March 29.
• Campus Library hours will change to 10am-5pm Monday through Thursday; and 10am-1pm on Fridays as of Monday, March 30.
• Back entrance gates to the College (along Bishop Rd.) will be closed; security will be posted at the front entrance with an arrival/departure log maintained by security as of 5pm, Monday, March 30.
• No outside guests are permitted unless for an emergency (health emergency or utility-related work [including A/C repair]).

Faculty from outside the immediate Rocky Mount area (7 mile radius) should request authorization from the Provost’s Office before coming to campus. Those receiving approval will be posted for security to allow access.

Please note: The College is still operating within the Tier IV level of the COVID-19 Response Plan.

Notes:
* “Social Distancing Requirements” as use in the governor’s executive order is defined as:
• maintaining at least 6 feet of physical distance from other individuals;
• washing hands using soap and water for at least twenty (20) as frequently as possible; or the use of hand sanitizer;
• regularly cleaning high-touch surfaces;
• facilitating online or remote access by customers (students and inter-employee interaction) if possible.

Questions? Email provost@ncwu.edu. Questions about residence life guidelines should be directed to Mr. Steve Burrell at sburrell@ncwu.edu.

Monday, March 23, 2020 2:36 PM Update

After much consideration, North Carolina Wesleyan University will not resume face-to-face instruction in the traditional program or seated/hybrid classes in the adult program on April 6. Please be attuned to directions from your instructors on how to complete all term requirements. Campus offices remain open for you to seek assistance in person, virtually, and via phone. For a directory of student services, please visit ncwu.edu/campus-life/resources/ and ncwu.edu/academics/adult-professional-studies/.

Traditional program residential students may stay in residence halls through the rest of the term with the understanding that the College’s response level could indicate further restrictions to campus life should COVID-19 directly affect our campus. We are doing everything possible to prevent this. However, Tier V response could reasonably include “shelter-in-place” directives and closing of all public spaces including the library and computer labs. (This would mean students would only be allowed to leave their rooms to collect meals from their lobbies when those were delivered – Cafeteria would be closed. Students would not be allowed to leave campus.)

Move Out Planning: 

The Viral Infection Response Team has been working on plans to manage the move-out process given the announcement we will not resume face-to-face instruction. This plan is based on the premise that we cannot mix the population of students who are still here with the population of students who have left. It is also based on the best way to manage book return after consulting with the College store manager, Marcus Rich.

Please be advised if you have left campus outside the immediate Rocky Mount area, you may not return to campus residence halls until the College has cleared you to do so. The $1,000 fine previously announced would apply to anyone violating this policy. As a result, students who have left campus may not move out until the end of the term – see below for details.

Move Out Procedure  for Those currently in Res. Halls:

• If choosing to leave, students must move out all items and turn in keys to RA or Area Director. No outside individuals (family, friends, etc.) are allowed in the buildings to assist. Students currently residing on campus must move out by 5pm on April 25.
• We expect most of you to keep your textbooks. Those who leave prior to the end of classes, may turn in textbooks after April 26 (or as deemed safe by the College). An extended deadline would be provided for those with justified needs (living far away, etc.)

Deciding whether to leave or stay?

Students currently residing on campus may continue to reside on campus with the understanding that the College may at some point have to escalate the response level to Tier V which could include but not be limited to the following possible measures:

• Quarantining infected persons/isolating exposed persons.
• Issue a shelter in place directive for residential students and live-in Residence Life staff members for at least 14 days. A “shelter in place” directive means that students would be required to self-isolate in their rooms for at least 14 days with the exception of getting food deliveries from the lobby and using restrooms. (Students would not be allowed to leave campus.)
• Close Library and GTC computer labs for at least 14 days.
• Commuter students are restricted from coming onto campus.
• Other outside guests (vendors/contractors) will not be allowed on campus except for emergency response or urgent repairs/building maintenance.
• Students living in the Wesleyan Inn will be required to move to main campus.
• If you choose to stay, please notify your RA by noon, tomorrow, March 24.

Move Out for Those Who Have Already Left Campus

• You may return no sooner than the tentative April 26 date to move out and turn in books. Exact date will be determined based on when the College deems it safe given local and regional conditions. It could be beyond April. The $1,000 fine previously announced would apply to anyone violating this policy and returning to campus prior to final College approval.
• Once safe dates have been set, a 1 week period (including weekend options) would be identified with times for students to sign-up for their specific move out window (a 2 hour period on a specific date). This is tentatively scheduled for April 26 – May 3.

Commencement

The ceremony originally scheduled for April 25 will be postponed until December 2020. Graduate candidates for April, August, and December may participate in the December 2020 ceremony. In lieu of a ceremony on April 25, we will create a virtual celebration to be published online that day. Tammy Harrell will be contacting you with details about this.

Student Accounts

As we continue to access the situation, we are reviewing student charges and financial aid related to room and board.  Student Accounts and Financial Aid offices will have a determination within 60 days of the end of the term and will communicate any changes to you. We appreciate your patience  during this process.

Questions? Email provost@ncwu.edu.