The following message from President Pierce was emailed to students on Feb. 3, 2022.
Dear Minneapolis College students:
Many of you are taking blended/hybrid or face-to-face courses this semester, and I want to thank all of you for following safety procedures aimed at keeping our campus and your classrooms safe. The College continues to hold in-person classes and, at this point, has no intention to move to remote instruction.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have had no reported cases of COVID-19 transmission on campus among employees or students. The reason for this stance is that our efforts to keep campus safe are working. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have not had one reported case of COVID-19 among employees or students that has been tied to on-campus transmission of the virus.
The steps that are helping us to avoid transmission on campus include the following:
- Classrooms are arranged to ensure three feet of physical distancing between seats.
- Everyone on campus is required to wear a mask over their nose and mouth. We now have KN95 masks – the type recommended by the CDC – available at all Public Safety desks on campus. We encourage all students and employees to wear a KN95 mask instead of cloth or paper masks, which have been shown to be less effective.
- Approximately 95% of employees are now vaccinated against COVID-19, and the remainder are being tested weekly.
- A large portion of students are also getting vaccinated, helping to keep themselves and the community safe. According to data provided by the state, as of December, 78% of Minneapolis College students had been vaccinated against COVID-19, the highest rate of any two-year college in the system.
- Students and employees who have COVID-19 or have had a COVID-19 exposure are required to follow CDC guidelines for quarantining.
The College administration continues to monitor the situation on campus and will update safety measures as needed. As long as safety measures continue to control on-campus transmission, we plan to continue in-person instruction.
Stay informed about campus health and safety by regularly visiting the COVID-19 Information page. If you have questions or comments about classroom safety, please contact Gail O’Kane, Vice President of Academic Affairs, at gail.okane@minneapolis.edu.
Sincerely,
President Sharon Pierce