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.