At East Ohio College, the safety of our students, faculty, and staff has always been of the utmost importance. In August of 2019, East Ohio put in a brand new security system that requires all who seek entry to have a key fob. Students must carry their fobs at all times and have an assigned serial number so they are easily traceable. Guests to East Ohio must be “buzzed in” by our front desk Administrative Assistants who have a monitor and can see who they are letting in. The Campus President even has an app on his phone where he can monitor who comes in and out of the building 24 hours a day.
It’s this proactivity that benefited East Ohio this spring as COVID-19 critically impacted the United States. Before Governor Dewine announced closures, the Campus President had already met with IT, faculty, and staff to begin planning on any closures. Thanks to this quick thinking and planning, East Ohio was able to develop and implement a coronavirus precaution plan to ensure student and staff safety through the transition to remote-based learning, also known as our live classroom. The events surrounding the coronavirus were a learning process for all. To East Ohio, maintaining transparency and effective communication was just as vital as ensuring proper precautions. Our immediate move from residential to a remote learning format was impressively smooth. Sure, there were a few hiccups, but it was astounding how everyone worked together and made it work. Students had the ability to still be in a classroom setting with fellow students and teachers together in one spot from the safety of their own homes. Students had the ability to talk and see their instructors and vice versa.
To carefully transition back into re-opening, students had the choice to attend class remotely or residentially. Any student seeking to attend physical class was instructed to practice social distancing and handwashing. East Ohio purchased face masks and other PPE and implemented additional sanitation procedures to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. On June 29, 2020, the campus re-opened for fully residential learning. The added precaution of temperature taking was implemented to help avoid symptomatic students, faculty, or staff from exposing others. Prior to entering either building, all students, faculty, staff, and visitors are required to have their temperature taken and recorded. Anyone presenting with a fever of 100.5 or higher are asked to either self-quarantine for 14 days or to not return until they can present a negative COVID test. These procedures are designed to help ensure a safe learning environment for everyone.
Whether it is from intruders or a rare virus sweeping the country, East Ohio is committed to continually protect all who walk through our doors. This is yet another reason why the East Ohio family is so special!
To learn more about how East Ohio supports its students, request information here!