January 2021 Update

By

Coronavirus Updates & Information

January 2021 Update

January 11, 2021

Colorado Mountain College looks forward to welcoming students back for spring semester on January 18, 2021. Due to the global pandemic, college operations in spring 2021 will be very similar to fall 2020.

Flex courses will begin coursework remotely. Optional in-person sessions may be scheduled once students and faculty have had a chance to consider the composition of students in the classroom (where they are located and as a result the feasibility of scheduling optional in-person sessions).

COVID vaccine

CMC does not currently anticipate issuing new policies mandating vaccinations for employees or students. The college strongly recommends that all individuals eligible for a vaccine become vaccinated as soon as possible. The college may require vaccination or continued physical distancing protocols as conditions for certain positions or courses, but those standards will be developed after vaccines are broadly available, likely in late spring 2021. In the meantime, all current physical distancing protocols will continue.

Unlike previous college-sponsored health fairs and flu shot efforts, CMC does not anticipate that it will administer the vaccine directly. The college’s coordinating efforts will complement but not compete with those underway at the county level. If you would like to know the vaccination plan for the county where you live, please contact your county health department.

Returning to campus

Anyone entering college facilities must adhere to college COVID procedures as outlined in the CMC Trail Map, including undergoing daily symptom screening, wearing a face covering properly at all times, and adhering to physical distancing requirements. Flagrant avoidance of the college’s COVID procedures can place students and colleagues at risk and thus may result in disciplinary actions.

I will maintain 6-feet of physical distance.
I will maintain 6-feet of physical distance.
wash hands
I will wash my hands often.
face mask
I will cover my face in public.
stay home if at risk or sick
I will stay at home if I am at risk or when I am sick.
seek testing for COVID-19
I will seek testing immediately if I have symptoms.

Guidance for employees

As the spring term begins, “work from home” procedures will be balanced with return to work expectations expressed below, as was true for the fall 2020 term. CMC will continue to closely monitor public health orders and conditions in its communities. We will adjust to these as the term progresses, as appropriate.

Below are expectations for the CMC work environment beginning January 18, 2021:

  • Beginning Monday, January 18, full-time staff are expected to return to their places of work at least two days each week; part-time staff, at least one day. All employees are allowed to access their places of work every day, provided physical distancing requirements are met and office capacities are at or below 25%. All employees should coordinate their “in-office” days with their supervisors.
  • CMC will be open to all employees provided physical distancing standards can be maintained. Obviously, these standards will need to be to be interpreted for each campus and work space. Managers must coordinate access to work spaces for employees, including potentially modifying work schedules and locations.
  • Employees in high-risk categories are encouraged to work remotely, but such employees must communicate their circumstances with their supervisors and human resources.
  • Employees with children in school districts that have not reinstated face-to-face instruction should coordinate flexible on-campus/in-office times with their supervisors.
  • Campuses and Central Services should expect many enrolled students to be in need of access to college facilities for reliable broadband access. Therefore, campuses must prepare plans to provide access for enrolled students during extended hours, including evenings and weekends. Ideally, all campuses will adopt similar operating hours to limit confusion among students.
  • Supporting student services such as libraries, tutoring, and advising/counseling must be accessible remotely and at extended hours, including evenings and weekends, as appropriate.

Such services should be accessible to students, regardless of the location of their home campus. These services should be coordinated with campus/department supervisors.

  • Supervisors must ensure that their campuses and departments are able to effectively support student learning and college operations. To accomplish this, supervisors may ask direct reports to return to work for some, most, or all of their weekly work hours.

Spring 2021 Update

By

Coronavirus Updates & Information

Spring 2021 Update

December 10, 2020

In light of recent COVID-19 surges across the country, Colorado Mountain College is clarifying plans for the spring 2021 semester. At this time CMC has programmed 70% of courses for the spring semester to be either in the Online Anytime or Flex format, with 30% of courses In Person. Importantly, many of our In Person courses are those that educate essential workers (health care, first responders, law enforcement, outdoor rescue, and education) for our mountain communities.

As a result of careful planning, CMC will begin the spring semester on January 18, 2021. Like the fall 2020 semester, Flex courses will begin coursework remotely. Optional in-person sessions may be scheduled once students and faculty have had a chance to consider the composition of students in the classroom (where they are located and as a result the feasibility of scheduling optional in-person sessions).

With our Online and Flex courses delivered in the virtual classroom, we can focus on providing safer environments for our students and faculty who will need to attend in-person due to their courses and degrees. It is vital that students, faculty, and staff continue to follow the Five Commitments, and be responsive to any and all community and public health order requirements.

It is our hope that if we all work together, we will refrain from needing to move our In Person offerings into a Flex environment, which for some courses planned this spring is not a viable option. We know that our communities and our health environments remain very fluid, and we are prepared to make adjustments if and when those requirements are made.

Join Us: Protect yourself, others this holiday season

By

Coronavirus Updates & Information

Join Us: Protect yourself, others this holiday season

November 17, 2020

Colorado Mountain College is urging its students, faculty, and staff to step up to protect themselves and their communities as COVID-19 continues to spread ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday.

“With the pandemic worsening across our state and the holidays approaching, it is more important now than ever that we all do our part by wearing our masks, staying 6 feet apart, staying home when we’re sick, washing our hands and seeking testing,” says CMC President and CEO Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser. “We are also asking our college community to think long and hard before making the decision to attend gatherings with friends or family this holiday season.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says small household gatherings are an important contributor to the rise of COVID-19 cases. The CDC has posted guidelines for safely celebrating Thanksgiving that encourage celebrating the holiday virtually instead of in-person.

“If you’re traveling home for the Thanksgiving holiday, or attending a small gathering, please continue to respect the 5 Commitments to Containment and research local COVID-19 conditions and restrictions before you go,” President Hauser says. “This may be the year when it’s safest for you to restrict your Thanksgiving meal to people who are already in your household.”

Those who do plan to travel to visit friends or family are encouraged to self-isolate prior to attending the gathering and consider getting tested for COVID before they go. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment maintains a map of free COVID testing sites.

Colorado Mountain College is closely monitoring local public health regulations at each of its campus locations. Although most classes will continue to be delivered remotely after the Thanksgiving holiday, students will return to their residence halls and still have access to campus resources.

“That’s why it’s more important now than ever that our students are careful and stay as healthy as possible,” President Hauser says. “We want you to stay strong and healthy and finish the semester with us.”

CMC Code of Student Conduct COVID-19 Addendum

By

Coronavirus Updates & Information

Colorado Mountain College Code of Student Conduct COVID-19 Addendum

August 11, 2020

Download/view the CMC Code of Student Conduct COVID-19 Addendum

The success of a college experience during the current pandemic requires collective efforts by all students, and by all others who come into contact with students, to meet minimum safety standards that may change in response to changes in the spread of the COVID-19 virus.

The College will impose health and safety requirements on every student, faculty, and staff member who will be on campus to mitigate the risk of virus exposure and transmission.

By enrolling at the College or attending College courses or events, and as a matter of shared responsibility, each student understands that face coverings, physical distancing, self-assessment for symptoms, hand washing, and other pandemic-related measures, will minimize the risk of infection.

The Code of Student Conduct now includes this COVID-19 Addendum to list the measures that will be utilized to satisfy our shared responsibilities to each other.

While the College will monitor the changing environment and the requirements or recommendations by public health officials, there is no guarantee that the risk of infection by the COVID-19 virus can be eliminated.

CMC Announces Plans for Fall Classes • CMC Anuncia Planes para las Clases de Otoño

By

Coronavirus Updates & Information

CMC Announces Plans for Fall Classes
CMC Anuncia Planes para las Clases de Otoño

English
English

June 12, 2020

Dear CMC community:

Today marks three months since announcing Colorado Mountain College would transition all spring 2020 courses to a virtual environment in light of the COVID-19 pandemic and corresponding state and local public health orders.

Together we made that successful transition. And, thanks to our ability to waive tuition and fees this summer through CMC Responds, our college has experienced its strongest-ever summer enrollment. Kudos to the faculty and staff who put in countless hours to switch gears mid-spring, and to our entire Academic Affairs team for continuing to innovate the ways we deliver teaching and learning.

Sincere gratitude to our Facilities colleagues who have bent over backwards to keep our campuses, buildings, and grounds clean and sanitized. The same goes to our Information Technology team for making equipment available to students and employees working or studying from home and for significantly and strategically investing in new technologies and systems over the coming months to position CMC for the future that lies ahead.

No one has a crystal ball to know exactly how COVID-19 will affect our state in the coming months, nor do we have all the answers at this time. So, our plan for the fall semester – CMC’s Fall 2020 Road Map – is intentionally flexible in order to adapt and adjust as we go.

Keeping the health and safety of our students, employees, and local communities central to our planning and to comply with evolving state and local public health orders, Colorado Mountain College will offer three categories of courses during the fall 2020 term. Our goal is to provide a blended and high-quality set of options that leverage CMC’s long-standing signature and experiential programs, small class sizes, innovative approaches, and personalized learning.

For all categories below, additional and intentional efforts to support students will come in the form of tutoring, advising, and regular communications. The three types of courses are:

  • Flex

These courses will have a designated class schedule. The designated schedule will have virtual meetings conducted using videoconferencing technology like WebEx or Zoom. Students must have access to technology to attend the course and attend the WebEx or Zoom sessions. Some of these courses may have optional face-to-face components such as small group discussions, group projects, or similar.

  • In-Person

These courses – or portions of these courses – cannot be delivered remotely, and will be offered face-to-face at a designated time and location, adhering to enhanced social distancing and safety guidelines. These courses may have parts of the course online, or using videoconferencing technology like WebEx or Zoom, but will require a student to be physically present for all or portions of the course.

  • Online Anytime

These courses will not require in-person attendance and will not have a designated schedule or videoconferencing time. Students must complete the course and homework in the time frame outlined in the syllabus.

Note that registration for new students begins on Monday, June 15, and the fall semester will start August 24.

Plan for residence halls

Kudos are also due to CMC’s Student Affairs team who went the extra mile to accommodate students who chose to remain in the residence halls this spring.

This fall, CMC intends to open residence halls at campuses in Steamboat Springs, Spring Valley, and Leadville at a reduced capacity. The halls will contain more single rooms and a limited number of double rooms. For the 2020-21 academic year, the college will also waive the requirement that new students live on campus. New students who would prefer to live off campus can now find their own accommodations.

In Breckenridge, our college-owned apartments will continue to operate as self-contained units available to eligible students.

More information will be forthcoming in the next few weeks. Housing options and the most up-to-date information can be found at CMC Residence Halls.

Taking care of the CMC community

As always, our focus is on providing the high-quality, personalized, affordable education our communities have come to expect – while also doing everything we can to maintain a healthy learning environment.

As we have for these past three-plus months, we will continue to monitor conditions in Colorado and in our communities. All campus leaders remain in close collaboration and coordination with local public health officials and other community health partners. College leadership is also in regular contact with departments at the state level, so that as a college we can make the best decisions regarding measures to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

If conditions change locally or at the state level, we will be ready to act. We believe this format for offering classes, as well as our reduced population in the residence halls, will allow us to adapt quickly as needed.

We also continue to closely follow guidance from the National Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the state health department on maintaining cleanliness. While no environment can be free from contamination, we have heightened sanitation in all facilities. As we get closer to the start of the fall semester, we will share information about specific local and campus requirements for social distancing, face coverings or masks, and other considerations. In the meantime, please continue to familiarize yourself with the latest information from the CDC.

As more information becomes available we will post it on https://coloradomtn.edu/covid19/. Employees can also check internally on Basecamp for additional announcements and evolving guidance for accessing facilities and safety protocols. Please send questions to covid19@coloradomtn.edu and someone will get back to you with a response as quickly as possible.

I look forward to seeing all of you this fall either virtually or in person with appropriate social distancing. We’ve been through a lot together – both our college and local communities. Let’s continue to support each other through these extraordinary times.

Feel free to contact me any time at president@coloradomtn.edu.

With regard,

Carrie Besnette Hauser, Ph.D.
President & CEO

Español

CMC trustees vote to waive summer books, tuition, fees • Los administradores de CMC votan por exonerar los libros de verano, la matrícula, los aranceles

By

Coronavirus Updates & Information

CMC trustees vote to waive summer books, tuition, fees

Los administradores de CMC votan por exonerar los libros de verano, la matrícula, los aranceles

English
English

College to invest approximately $2 million into its mountain communities

APRIL 6, 2020

As a way to help buoy the local economy, the Colorado Mountain College Board of Trustees today voted in a special virtual meeting to pass along federal and state support and internal savings to students, local businesses and local workers.

The college will use the funds to waive tuition, books and fees for three categories of students during the summer 2020 academic term, and to put into place other initiatives to help individuals and small businesses that have been impacted by measures related to COVID-19.

College leadership has developed a multi-pronged approach to help the college’s local communities, in a program called CMC Responds: Today, Tomorrow, Together. For the first time ever, for the summer 2020 semester the college will waive tuition, books and fees for students taking credit, ESL (English as a Second Language), and GED courses who qualify as in-district; in-state students who took credit courses in spring 2020; and displaced workers who live in the CMC district.

See CMC District Map

Trustees were required to vote on this measure because it represents a change from the 2020-21 tuition and discounts they approved in January 2020.

“Over the past three weeks, the nation’s economy has been turned on its head due to the COVID-19 pandemic,” Dr. Carrie Besnette Hauser, president and CEO of the college. “Nearly every business across our mountain resort communities, including the region’s largest employers, have been shuttered. The impacts of this upheaval will be detrimental to our local businesses and residents, without whom CMC would not exist. So, we consider this a reinvestment into our local communities with the hope it will contribute to a speedier recovery.”

Trustees heard that in addition to tuition waivers for the distance-only summer semester, the CMC Responds initiative includes:

  • Extending (starting in fall 2020) the President’s Scholarship to students who have graduated from local high schools since 2017 and extending the deadline for current high school seniors to July 31
  • Donating all available personal protective equipment (PPE) to local hospitals and clinics
  • Making CMC facilities available where they might be needed during this health crisis
  • Activating the No Barriers Fund in the CMC Foundation to support students facing financial hardship that prevents them from staying in school
  • Making tutoring services available to help local parents with home schooling
  • Distributing donated laptops to students who need them
  • Providing internet service to students and families without broadband access
  • Offering complimentary business consulting/training for local businesses affected by the pandemic
  • A special condensed Introduction to Hospitality Supervision series that starts April 15

“CMC is investing in the communities that have supported us since we started nearly 55 years ago,” said Patty Theobald, president of the CMC Board of Trustees. “Our board and college leadership want to do this by passing along nearly $2 million in federal funds and internal savings, to directly help our economy get back on its feet. As educators and supporters of our local businesses, we know that education is a powerful economic driver that can help us today and tomorrow, working together to bounce back.”

The internal savings include those from hiring freezes, canceled commencement ceremonies, reductions in energy usage, and revenues realized by exercising 7D, the 2018 ballot measure overwhelmingly approved by local voters authorizing CMC to recoup financial losses triggered by the Gallagher Amendment.

Trustees also heard that additional sources of financial aid can cover living expenses for students. This includes assistance from the CMC Foundation, which recently earmarked $100,000 for its No Barriers Fund and is distributing $1.2 million in donor-supported scholarships for the 2020-21 academic year. Fund Sueños remains available for individuals who don’t qualify for federal financial aid. And for those with limited access to computers or internet service, CMC will assist here too. The CMC Foundation is raising funds for student laptops; to help, please go to: cmcfoundation.org/give.

Forms and more information will be available on coloradomtn.edu/CMCResponds. More details about these and forthcoming initiatives will be shared with the community over the coming weeks.

In the virtual meeting April 6 trustees also voted to appoint David Armstrong as Salida and Poncha Springs liaison to the CMC Board of Trustees.

Following the November addition of Salida School District R32J to the Colorado Mountain College district, CMC trustees decided to seek an advisory board member from the new district.

Armstrong is the founder and vice president – operations for First Crop, Inc. Previously he was vice president – commercial development for Ashland Inc., a $10 billion specialty chemical, distribution and consumer products company. He has experience serving on the boards of Pinto Barn, Inc., and First Crop, Inc., as well as Rotary, Chaffee County Soccer Club, and the R32-J district accountability committee. He chaired the local campaign to bring Salida and Poncha Springs into the CMC district during the fall of 2019, a ballot measure that passed with overwhelming support.

Armstrong will represent Salida and Poncha Springs in support of official representation that is already provided by the elected trustee currently representing Lake County and Salida, Bob Hartzell. Armstrong will serve through December 2021, and may apply for a second term (January 2022-December 2023).

Español