KCC students, employees and community members,

Given the rapidly evolving spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) in Michigan and heightened concern in the local medical community, I am announcing that Kellogg Community College is closing all of its facilities effective at noon today. This closure affects the North Avenue campus and Regional Manufacturing Technology Center in Battle Creek, the Fehsenfeld Center in Hastings, the Grahl Center in Coldwater and the Eastern Academic Center in Albion. Employees will have access to KCC facilities until 8 a.m. tomorrow to retrieve any personal items.

It’s important to note that our Spring 2020 semester is continuing, albeit in an online-only format with instructors working remotely.

KCC’s facility closure will remain in effect through April 5, and our plan as of today is to reopen our facilities to employees on Monday, April 6. Because the spread of Covid-19 is unprecedented and unpredictable, and because the guidance from health and governmental authorities changes regularly, we will closely monitor the situation and update the College’s facility status as needed. We will communicate changes in our operational readiness via KCC email and the Kellogg.edu/coronavirus web page.

Impact on students

Students should be aware that, while they won’t have access to KCC facilities during the closure, they will have access to instructors and services remotely via the web, email and telephone. Students should visit Kellogg.edu/coronavirusfaq for more information. This page will be updated often, so please check it regularly. One crucial change I am also announcing today is that KCC will not have any face-to-face instruction for the remainder of the Spring 2020 semester. Many of our classes will continue to be delivered online, including those that have recently transitioned from face-to-face to fully online. However, students in classes that cannot be delivered fully online will have the opportunity to request an Incomplete Contract and complete the coursework at a later time at no additional cost. Students will receive further communication from their instructors later this week.

Maintaining operations

During the facility closure, a team of essential personnel will continue working — primarily from home — to maintain critical functions of the College. Only KCC employees who have been deemed to be essential personnel will be allowed into any College buildings.

Even essential personnel will have limited access — between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays — and be required to notify Public Safety by calling 269-965-4147 prior to arriving on campus. Employees should park in Lot J (alongside the Schwarz Building) and meet a Public Safety officer at one of the entrances of the Schwarz, Lane-Thomas or Davidson buildings. Public Safety personnel will escort essential personnel to their work areas and then notify custodial staff to clean those areas upon the employee’s exit. We are taking these unprecedented steps to prevent possible contamination and maintain a clean, healthy campus.

During this temporary facility closure, all KCC employees, with the exception of temporary part-time employees, will continue to be paid.

During the closure, students and employees also are advised of the following:

For technological questions, contact the KCC Help Desk at 269-965-4148 between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. weekdays. Outside of those times, contact the Help Desk at helpdesk@kellogg.edu or on its web page at Kellogg.edu/helpdesk .

or on its web page at For Human Resources questions, contact the department at 269-965-4152 or humanresources@kellogg.edu or visit the KCC Employee web page at www.kellogg.edu/kcc-employee-page .

or visit the KCC Employee web page at For all other questions or concerns during the closure, KCC employees should communicate first with their direct supervisors, who are expected to share concerns with their own supervisors if necessary.

Continue to monitor your KCC email and website for updates as they are communicated.

During this time, there are many more questions than answers. We have many questions ourselves and we’ve been tackling as many as we can in recent days. As we have prepared to wind down many parts of our operation and announce a campus closure, we have been working day and night to do everything we can feasibly do to ensure the health and safety of our KCC students and employees while salvaging as much of the learning environment as we can.

Thank you for your understanding, compassion, patience and resolve during this time.

Sincerely,

Dr. Adrien L. Bennings

President

For more news about Kellogg Community College, view our latest press releases online at http://daily.kellogg.edu/category/news-releases.