Seminole State College announced the results this week of its efforts to track numbers of anyone on campus who needed isolation or quarantine due to exposure to COVID-19 during the Fall 2020 Semester. Results were separated into two groups: students and employees. The data was reported once a week during the Fall 2020 Semester for a total of 15 weeks.

The number of isolated students for any week peaked at a mere 10 positive cases which was during the week of Sept. 5, 2020. The number of quarantined students for any week peaked at only 39 students during the week of Sept. 14, 2020. Incredibly, the number of isolated students remained below 6 positive cases for seven of the 15 weeks of the semester.

The number of employees in isolation, which included full and part-time faculty and staff, peaked with a high of only 4 positive cases on Dec. 7. Employees in quarantine reached a high of only 11 that same week. During the first 11 weeks of the reporting, there was only one positive employee case.

“We are so proud of the campus community for observing and embracing the safety protocols we put in place last summer to protect everyone. It was not easy, and probably not popular with many, but we believe it was critically important in order for us to keep the doors open. Our students wanted to be here for in-person classes, and our faculty acknowledged that we excel at that type of personal instruction. Everyone worked toward delivering quality instruction in a variety of ways in a safe environment,” SSC President Lana Reynolds said.

Reynolds added with social distancing, and the requirement that everyone on campus wear face coverings, the College was successful in preventing any outbreaks on campus. She said that tracking revealed that no positive transmission occurred in any classroom settings throughout the semester. While a number of classes were offered totally online, most were conducted in-person with a virtual component. Classes with high enrollment were divided to allow some students to be present on certain days and others on alternate days to ensure social distancing within all classrooms.

She said “the faculty worked extremely hard to be flexible in forms of instruction delivery and to work with students who faced hardships with illness, quarantines, childcare and homeschooling issues. Dr. Linda Goeller, Vice President for Academic Affairs, said, “It was difficult for everyone. We faced many obstacles, but we persevered to the end. I appreciate the faculty’s creativity and innovation, and the students’ willingness to stay engaged.”

Since Aug. 31, 2020, the College has published a weekly report on the www. sscok.edu website. The reports were emailed to all students, faculty and staff, and to the SSC Board of Regents each Monday. The report gave numbers of students and employees who had tested positive and were placed in isolation either on campus or off. Also included were the number of students and employees who were quarantined due to direct, first-degree contact with someone with COVID. The quarantined numbers included those who were awaiting test results.

The report was designed to include any campus visitors who reported to the campus that they were in isolation or in quarantine. However, none were reported.

Only students and employees who had any physical presence on campus were included in the reports. Students who were taking only online classes, or employees who were working strictly from home due to special leave arrangements, were not included in the Campus COVID report.

If someone was listed in the reports, they continued to be counted from one week to the next until they were officially released from isolation or quarantine after evaluation by a Health Department or medical provider.

Fall sports, with the exception of men’s and women’s golf, were suspended by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) for fall 2020. Limited travel and scrimmages were allowed for other sports beginning in October. Men’s and women’s basketball, women’s volleyball, women’s soccer, softball and baseball are scheduled to resume competition after the first of the year. The NJCAA Region II has developed special safety protocols for athletic play.

In line with colleges and universities across the state, SSC abruptly closed its campus last March as a result of the pandemic. Students living in campus residence halls were allowed to return to campus to retrieve their belongings from dorm rooms, and all classes in the Spring semester were completed online.

Offices were closed and most employees worked from home, answering emails and phone calls remotely. A virtual Commencement exercise was provided on May 8, 2020 honoring Spring graduates. The campus was also closed for outside groups to host community, school and private gatherings until October of 2020.

A slow opening of campus began in May with employees returning but offices remaining closed to the public until late June. At that time, students wishing to enroll in fall classes were allowed in campus buildings. The campus fully reopened in late July.

A mask mandate was approved on July 23, 2020 by the SSC Board of Regents requiring faculty, staff, students and campus visitors to wear face coverings everywhere on campus except when they were alone in small areas. Reynolds said the campus quickly adopted the slogan, “If you are walking — you are wearing” in regard to those moving around offices, in classrooms, in corridors and even in the parking lots.

Deanna Miles M.D., M.H.A., who had been working at the College through a Title III grant program and teaching in the Science/Technology/Engineering and Math program, was hired as the institution’s COVID Officer. In that role, she made recommendations to administrators and the campus population regarding safety protocols ensuring proper adoption of recommendations from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), and worked with the Seminole County Health Department to identify and track those on campus who needed to be isolated or quarantined due to exposure to the virus.

On Dec. 16, leaders of campus employee organizations and the Student Government Association met with members of the Administrative Council to discuss their perspectives on how the campus handled the COVID crisis during the fall, and ideas of what could be done better in the coming months.

Reynolds said, “We know we have tough days ahead in continuing to fight this virus. We plan to stay vigilant in enforcing the wearing of face masks, requiring social distancing, and offering a variety of options for delivery of instruction. We feel very fortunate that our numbers remained low this fall, and we are optimistic that we will be able to continue to provide a safe learning and working environment as we enter 2021.”

Spring classes begin Monday, January 11, 2021. Offices will be open to process enrollment following the holiday break at 8 a.m. on Monday, January 4, 2021. Students may reach out to the SSC Admissions office by email at admissions@sscok.edu or phone at 405-382-9230