Dear Students, Faculty and Staff,
Welcome to our bi-weekly correspondence to keep you updated and informed of Carroll College’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Zoom Security
As there has been a lot of information recently circulating about security and privacy concerns with Zoom Video Conferencing, we wanted to provide some guidance on the issue as it relates to Carroll College. Although "Zoombombing" instances (where unauthorized people join and disrupt meetings) have been widely publicized, there have been no such incidents at Carroll College. Carroll has an enterprise account with Zoom, which greatly increases security and reduces opportunities for unauthorized use. CCIT continues to encourage our employees and students to use Zoom as a way to connect and conduct business during the current health crisis. As with any software platform used to share information, we are all responsible for using Zoom in a way that protects the privacy of our institutional data and you may wish to think about additional security measures when creating/hosting video meetings. Details on heightening security for Zoom classes and meetings can be found on the COVID-19 FAQs page under Faculty/Staff.
Easter Travel
Here is guidance regarding travel over Easter break:
If you plan to stay on campus through the end of the semester, please do not travel home or travel to visit friends and/or family in other areas.
If you decide to leave campus for the Easter break, prior to leaving please do a full-checkout of the residence hall following the instructions for an express checkout provided by Residential Life & Housing. Email studentlife@carroll.edu if you have questions.
This is necessary because the Governor's Stay-At-Home directive and Mandatory Quarantine for Travelers directive have been established to minimize COVID-19 virus spread by significantly reducing one's exposure to others and other communities. If you leave the state, the Governor's directive indicates that you will be required to self-quarantine for 14 days when you return to the state. Self-quarantine means that you cannot leave your room, nor can you have any guests, visitors, roommates, etc. for 14 days. Additionally, in order to maintain the spirit of the Stay-At-Home directive, we are also asking that any travel to other communities in Montana follow these same guidelines as those traveling out of state.
On-Campus Isolation & Quarantine Protocols
Carroll has developed protocols if a student on campus were to need to be isolated or quarantined due to COVID-19. Borromeo Hall has been identified as the location on campus for isolation/quarantine. All residents in Borro were relocated to a different residence hall, and all Borro offices and staff have been temporarily relocated and/or faculty/staff are working remotely. Detailed information on the protocols for isolation or quarantine in Borromeo Hall can be found on the COVID-19 FAQs page under Residential Life.
At this time, there are no cases of COVID-19 on campus, nor do we have anyone in required isolation or quarantine on campus.
ASCC Message
We want to remind students either still on campus and in the Helena area that the Associate Students of Carroll College (ASCC) have funds available to buy resources for any student in need. Carroll students requesting resources should fill out this google form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSc58fn33g46pSBDHxY93XWdKQth6Q_inp6oh2C1xd_iqL2vIw/viewform?usp=sf_link.
Residential Hall Check-Out Extension
We have extended the deadline for checking out of the residence halls for those students who have already left campus to Wednesday, May 20, 2020. We will continue to monitor the situation and update you if this timeline needs to be changed again. Unfortunately, for those in the Campus Apartments, we will need to maintain the date of May 10, 2020, as the end of the lease term. This ensures that students moving into the apartments for leases with a start term of May 13, 2020, will move into a unit that has been cleaned and sanitized. Please reach out to your RA to make arrangements for returning to campus to checkout.
Expanded Employee Sick Leave Policies
In an effort to continue to mitigate the potential spread of COVID-19, Carroll College is offering expanded sick leave to employees. There are two major sections of the paid leave 1) expanded paid sick leave due to COVID-19 related illness and 2) expanded family and medical leave to care for child(ren) due to school and daycare closures. Details on the expanded sick leave policy can be found on the COVID-19 FAQs page under Faculty/Staff.
Please remember updates and additional information continue to be posted to our COVID-19 website and any questions you have can be directed to the covid19@carroll.edu account.
Thank you for staying engaged with all of our communications. We are living in a very fluid time with continually changing circumstances. We look forward to a time when life is once again predictable. We would like to wish each of you a blessed and peaceful rest of this Holy Week and a wonderful Easter. Please stay safe and healthy!
Thank you,
John E. Cech, Ph.D., President
Carroll College COVID-19 Incident Command Team