Previous COVID-19 Updates

The landscape of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to shift as Hillsborough County (along with most of the country) is now living in what is considered to be an endemic response to COVID-19.  While the virus is still present within our communities, hospitalizations remain low due to active public health strategies that include mask use (when appropriate), vaccination, hand washing and effective COVID-19 treatments.

In accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Florida Department of Health Guidelines, contact tracing remains indicated for the following three high-risk transmission settings: Long-Term Care Facilities, Group Homes and Correctional Institutions due to the close living and working conditions. 

With the advancement of both prevention and treatment options, contact tracing is no longer indicated as the primary defense against the spread of COVID-19.   The regional infection control teams at the Hillsborough County Health Department are no longer completing communitywide contact tracing and will only activate contact tracing protocols for outbreaks within one of these three high-risk transmission settings.  As of May 31, HCC will also discontinue our Hawk Tracing Protocol.  

While the Hawk Tracing Protocol is being discontinued, the College will continue to provide COVID-19 prevention resources throughout our campuses.  These include:

• Maintaining our COVID-19 Campus Resource Persons team to monitor the state of the endemic, assist with policy issues related to COVID-19 and work with individual campus leadership with COVID-related inquiries.
• Continuing to fully stock our COVID-19 Kiosks.
• Providing the HCC community with the latest COVID-19 information and community-based resources.
• Our COVID-19 Campus Resource Persons will remain available to answer your questions.

The Back To The Nest webpages will continue to be the repository for all HCC COVID-19-related information including vaccination and testing sites.

HCC will continue with the “if you are sick, stay home” policy.  Individuals should follow CDC recommendations related to exposure and quarantine for COVID-19 and the flu.    We are also developing further guidelines for faculty, staff and students to follow when this occurs.  If you feel ill, please contact your instructor, supervisor or dean/manager and do not come to campus.

Dr. Ken Atwater

I want to provide a brief update on mask usage at the College. Based on the latest scientific data and recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) including Tampa Bay’s recent designation of community risk as low, masks are no longer expected at HCC; however you may choose to mask at any time while inside College facilities.

We will continue to monitor the information from the CDC and health officials, and remain nimble should conditions warrant a change, but are happy to make this update.

Dear faculty, staff and students,

Given the rise in cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 locally and beyond, HCC continues to work closely with local and state health officials to help keep our community safe. We are closely monitoring all developments and are following guidance from our COVID-19 team, other state and local health and education officials, along recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Today, HCC has reopened for the spring semester with classes resuming on January 10. All the safety protocols and procedures that were employed during the Fall 2021 semester will continue throughout the Spring 2022 semester.

Compliance will help us all return safely to our campuses and ensure a successful start to the semester. It remains our expectation that recommended face masks, such as KN95 masks, be worn while on campus. As has been recently reported, cloth masks are less effective against the highly transmissible variants such as Delta and Omicron. HCC continues to stock ample COVID-19 supplies at our COVID kiosks located throughout our campuses and facilities. We also continue to provide enhanced cleaning and air filtration throughout campus buildings. If you need assistance, please contact your location’s COVID point person.

We will provide the latest vaccination information, including vaccination locations, through our return to the nest website and strongly encourage those that are eligible to obtain the COVID-19 vaccine/booster to help mitigate the spread of the virus.

Without your efforts, we would be unable to provide the thousands of our students with the life changing educational opportunities that HCC offers. Your work is vitally important in the recovery from this pandemic. I want to thank you for your constant vigilance during these continuing challenging times and I look forward to seeing everyone back on campus.

We are very happy to welcome you back to the nest for the fall semester. The full reopening of our campuses is something our faculty and staff have worked very hard to accomplish, and our goal is to offer our students the safest and most engaging learning environment possible. As a member of our HCC family, you play an important role in preventing the further spread of COVID-19. This responsibility goes beyond protecting ourselves, but also doing our part to protect our families, friends and those around us.    

The new Delta variant is causing a surge of COVID-19 cases in our community and beyond. Hospitalizations are surpassing last year’s numbers and are highest among those who remain unvaccinated. HCC has been in daily consultation with medical professionals since the onset of COVID, and they, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), maintain that vaccination and wearing a face mask remain the most effective ways to prevent transmission. 

In order for us all to have a safe and successful fall semester, we ask that you follow a few steps:   

1. If you are sick, stay home. 
2. In light of new guidance from the CDC, we expect everyone to wear a mask at all times when inside any HCC facility regardless of vaccination status.   
3. If you are not vaccinated, we strongly urge you to get vaccinated if you are able. Vaccination can prevent you from becoming seriously ill or hospitalized with COVID-19 and protects those we care about.   
4. Continue to follow best practices like frequent hand washing.  

You are also encouraged to visit hccfl.edu/COVID regularly for the latest updates on COVID-19, including our Hawk Tracing protocols and vaccination locations. 

Thank you for continuing to do all you can to keep yourself and those around you safe.  I look forward to seeing you all on campus. 

Dr. Ken Atwater 

With the start of the fall semester a few weeks away, I wanted to provide an update to the college community. We have been working tirelessly to ensure that we provide excellent academic programming and support services and all of the extracurricular activities that enrich the learning environment that make our campuses so vibrant. 

Your safety remains of paramount concern to us. Our thoughtfully developed protocols, using guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), local health officials, and our own COVID-19 team, have resulted in minimal disruption during this pandemic. Being vaccinated can protect your health and that of those around you and can help minimize potential disruptions to operations should you be exposed to COVID-19.

With the new guidance issued by the CDC recommending the use of masks inside public buildings even for fully vaccinated individuals as a precaution given the broad circulation of the highly contagious delta variant of the virus, members of the college community are expected to wear a mask or face covering while inside college facilities. This is in accordance with the directives from the Department of Education.

Vaccines and masks are highly effective at stopping the spread of COVID-19. Everyone in the HCC community is expected to follow these recommendations, get vaccinated and wear a mask while inside college buildings. To be clear, neither vaccination nor masking in indoor public spaces is required at HCC as we start the fall term.

I encourage you to visit our Return to the Nest website to familiarize yourself with the helpful information on COVID-19 and the protocols we have put in place.  If you are in need of an accommodation, please contact Human Resources at hradarequest@hccfl.edu.

We must all continue to be vigilant and do our part to protect the health and safety of the HCC community. If there is a change in policy, we will send a college-wide communication. Thank you for being responsible members of the college community and I look forward to seeing you on campus. 

Dr. Ken Atwater

I want to provide an update to the College on our continuing efforts surrounding COVID-19 as we are less than a month out from the start of fall classes and have fully returned to serve our students and this community in person.  I am so proud of the work that was done by the entire College community during the last year and a half.  Your continued vigilance and adherence to our protocols enabled us to continue the work of the College with little interruption, and I am pleased that our Hawk Tracing continues to show few positive cases/low positivity rate. 

I know that we are all looking forward to seeing more students on our campuses this fall.  We are anticipating a 50/50 split between on-campus and online classes being offered this fall, and although our enrollment is still down, we are seeing robust registration activity.  As a reminder, masks are no longer required, and social distancing recommendations have been lifted.  For those that feel more comfortable wearing their masks, they should feel free to continue doing so. 

The College will continue to operate under Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines and be vigilant in monitoring local conditions – particularly as it pertains to new variants.  We will strongly encourage only well people to be on our campuses and encourage vaccination for those eligible. 

Additionally, the College will:

·         Fully stock all campuses and facilities with PPE.

·         Fully stock the over 50 COVID Kiosks with wipes, hand sanitizer and masks.

·         Provide sanitizing wipes for the classrooms.

·         Provide extra cleaning in high-touch areas.

·         Continue use of high-grade building air filtration systems.

Our COVID teams will remain in place to manage our Hawk Tracing process. 

As a reminder:

·         Anyone exhibiting COVID symptoms must report to a Campus Point Person.

·         Anyone exposed to someone with COVID-19 must report to a Campus Point Person.

·         Anyone with a positive COVID-19 test must report to a Campus Point Person.

We will continue to provide the latest vaccination and other related information on our Return to the Nest website.  I want to thank you again for your hard work during these very trying times, and I look forward to seeing everyone on campus very soon. 

I am pleased that Hillsborough Community College is now fully open. HCC’s leadership and COVID planning teams have worked diligently throughout the entire COVID-19 pandemic to establish a return-to-campus plan and associated protocols informed by the latest data-backed recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and in consultation with local health officials. The overarching goal throughout has been to ensure the health and safety of our students, faculty, staff and visitors. By working together to put the health of our College community first, we have safely returned to our campuses and facilities and a new operational normal with faculty and staff available to serve students on all our campuses and virtually for those who want that flexibility. 

HCC has continued to see a low COVID positivity rate on our campuses and facilities due in large part to our College community’s vigilance, and I am delighted to have heard from so many of our faculty, staff, students and their families that have taken part in our vaccination events. Based on the latest scientific data shared on May 13, the CDC changed its recommendations for wearing face masks, stating that fully vaccinated people can resume activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing. As a result, masks will be optional on College property, but no longer required.  

Our Returning to the Nest: Hillsborough Community College Back-to-Campus Plan has been, and will remain, flexible to accommodate the complex and ever-changing conditions that have confronted us throughout the pandemic. Again, HCC will continue to follow the most current guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in addition to direction from state and local government. 

I want to thank you for your patience and understanding as we have navigated these new waters together.  Our community has demonstrated enormous strength and resiliency, and your support of HCC has been very meaningful to the faculty and staff as we have endeavored to serve our students throughout this pandemic. Together, we are Hawk Strong.   

Ken Atwater, Ph.D.
College President

I want to provide an update as it relates to the recent announcement from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on new guidelines for facemasks.  At this time, HCC’s protocols will remain unchanged, and we will continue to require facemasks and physical distancing at all of our facilities.  As the community transmission rate of COVID continues to decline, we do anticipate receiving specific direction from the Florida Department of Education and Governor DeSantis in the coming days on this issue.   In the interim, HCC will continue to support those measures that we know have successfully prevented the spread of the virus – facemasks, social distancing and hand washing.  

Thank you for your continued vigilance and cooperation, and I look forward to updating you with revised protocols as soon as new information becomes available.

I want to provide an update to the College community regarding the two executive orders issued by Governor DeSantis yesterday. We have been provided specific guidance from the chancellor of the Florida College System as it pertains to yesterday’s orders.

• First, EO-21-102 only impacts city and county governments and does NOT impact Florida College System (FCS) institutions or K-12 public schools.
• Moreover, EO-21-101 and EO-21-102 only impacts restrictive COVID-19 orders/ordinances that are adopted through emergency enactment.
• Neither EO-21-101 nor EO-21-102 impacts any FCS institutions’ policies for the remainder of the 2020-21 fiscal year (year ending June 30, 2021). 

As such, we will continue to maintain the rules and protocols that we currently have in place at HCC, including our mask and social distancing requirements, until such time as the CDC issues new recommendations and/or we are directed to do otherwise by the state.

As the COVID-19 vaccination rollout is underway, I want to extend my sincerest thanks to everyone helping to execute the targeted vaccination events at the Dale Mabry, Brandon and SouthShore Campuses.  To date, we have successfully vaccinated 7,351 students, faculty and staff in our HCC community. It gives me much pride to know that we, as Hawks, have been a part of the solution to keep our community healthy and safe.

Although more individuals are getting vaccinated, the College will continue to adhere to Centers for Disease Control (CDC) safety guidelines.  Every person coming onto HCC property—whether a faculty member, staff member, student, vendor or visitor—is expected to follow health and safety guidelines. College policies, including the Student Code of Conduct and Employment Procedures, will be used to ensure compliance. 

All faculty, staff, students and visitors are:

• Required to wear a face mask or covering while on college property, including when entering and exiting buildings, using restrooms, moving about campus and in buildings when in a shared space and when social distancing is not possible.
• To observe social distancing.
• To frequently wash hands.
• If soap and water are not readily available, to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol.  Hand sanitizer stations have been widely deployed across all College facilities to complement good handwashing practice.
• All faculty, staff and students who test positive, display symptoms or who have been exposed to COVID-19 should direct this information immediately to the HCC Campus Point Persons team at covid19vaccine@hccfl.edu.

With the growing number of fully vaccinated individuals and the increased traffic on campuses, we are closely monitoring CDC guidelines. There has been a recent change to the K-12 social distancing guidelines from six feet to three feet in the classroom. Currently, no changes have been made in the higher education sector. However, we are anticipating changes in these guidelines and will notify the HCC community and modify college operations when appropriate. Specifically, as the CDC guidelines change, and with more vaccinations, remote working arrangements may no longer be necessary, but we will continue to be guided by safety concerns as our number one priority.

Further, HR will be working with staff who have accommodations as guidelines change. Beginning on April 5, all individuals age 18 and older will be eligible to receive the vaccine. We highly encourage the college community to take the opportunity to get vaccinated.  Staff who choose not to receive a vaccine may still be required by their supervisor to return to in-person work on a set date, including those with a religious or medical-related accommodation. Additional information will be provided as modifications are made to the guidelines. If you have any questions related to accommodations, please email Hradarequest@hccfl.edu.

These are changing times, and we will update the college community after Commencement on May 7, or sooner as needed. 

Please stay safe, and thank you for all you are doing.

I want to provide an update on the College’s COVID response as conditions continue to evolve with the pandemic. With the spring term well under way, it is imperative that we remain vigilant and do our part to help maintain the health and safety of our college community. 

As a reminder, every person coming onto HCC property—whether a faculty member, staff member, student, vendor or visitor—is expected to follow the health and safety guidelines established by HCC as guided by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). The College will use College policies including the Student Code of Conduct and Employment Procedures to ensure compliance.  

All faculty, staff, students and visitors are:

• Required to wear a face mask or covering while on college property, including when entering and exiting buildings, using restrooms, moving about campus and in buildings when in a shared space and when social distancing is not possible.  
• To observe social distancing.
• To frequently wash hands.
• If soap and water are not readily available, to use a hand sanitizer that contains at least 60% alcohol. Hand sanitizer stations have been widely deployed across all College facilities to complement good handwashing practice.
• All faculty, staff and students who test positive, display symptoms or who have been exposed to COVID-19 should direct this information immediately to the HCC Campus Point Persons team at C19PointPersons@hccfl.edu.

In many instances, exposures and subsequent quarantines have resulted from a student or staff member who felt ill and decided to come to campus anyway. A day or two later, the individual realized they were getting worse and it turned out they had COVID all along. Please do not hesitate to stay away from campus if you are ill, getting a head cold or feeling congested. Far too often, the College has experienced COVID spread because the early symptoms were ignored.

President Biden has recently signed an Executive Order that modifies travel restrictions. As such, the College has modified our travel rules to align with that order. The current prohibition on any College-sponsored travel, whether international or domestic, remains in effect. Any personal travel remains strongly discouraged; in emergency situations where travel is unavoidable, faculty and staff should discuss their plans with their supervisor to determine whether self-quarantine will be required and should make contingency plans (i.e. working remotely or taking annual leave) should self-isolation be necessary on their return. Faculty and staff who are unable to work remotely on return from foreign travel may not be eligible for Cares Act time off pay. Additionally, all faculty, staff and students who travel internationally will be required to provide documentation of a negative COVID test and will be required to follow the current quarantine protocol of 7-10 days.  

HCC is also working closely with the Department of Health to provide volunteers for community vaccinations. Preliminary meetings are occurring to develop a plan for vaccination of our general college community once the vaccine is made available for our specific group. If you have an interest in volunteering to assist in giving vaccinations, medical and non-medical volunteers are needed. Please reach out to Dr. Todd Wells to see how you might get connected. 

You are encouraged to visit our SharePoint and Return to the Nest sites for the latest COVID protocols and resources.

I want to share some information based on feedback from our recent COVID forums.  First, we will be returning to campus following the winter break under the current operating protocols that have successfully served our College community thus far.  I am extremely proud of the attention and care that each of you has demonstrated.  The COVID teams have managed our cases with great haste and diligence, and as a result, our positivity rate has remained low.  I am optimistic that our students and employees will adhere to the same level of vigilance over the break, but again, we will be carefully monitoring conditions and responding accordingly.  As I have previously stated, we are prepared to modify operations should local health and government officials require us to do so.  The health and safety of the HCC family comes first. 

Second,  the effect of COVID on our communities remains a dynamic one, and as such, so too must our work environment.  The College’s staffing process must remain flexible to accommodate the changing circumstances.  On January 4th, administrators and staff will no longer be working remotely 100% unless there has been an approved ADA accommodation.  Supervisors will determine staffing needs and may continue using staff rotational models to meet the requirements of social distancing and reduced occupancy rates while ensuring that equity remains a key guiding principle in all decisions. Faculty will continue to work as determined by their spring schedule. With respect to our faculty, work assignments are addressed in the recent MOU between FUSA and the College.

I also remain aware of the needs of those employees who could be profoundly affected by COVID’s impact.  Thus, for those staff members requesting to work exclusively from home, we will be following our formal ADA processes and federal guidelines as referenced above.  To request an ADA accommodation or for additional details about the process, please send an email to hradarequest@hccfl.edu. As part of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the College will also periodically review both new and existing accommodations in conjunction with supervisors to ensure that the accommodation still reflects the needs of the employee and the department.

Ken Atwater, Ph.D.
College President

I want to provide the college with an update on our return-to-the-nest plans. The campuses have been incredibly busy preparing for their reopening to students next week. As I have previously shared, new signage for social and physical distancing reminders have been installed, in addition to the rearrangement of spaces. Hand sanitizer and masks are available in every College building, and we are in the process of equipping all classrooms and labs with an additional supply of wipes prior to the start of classes. Additionally, COVID kiosks containing infrared thermometers for voluntary temperature checks are being placed at each of our facilities. We have specific details on the College’s intranet as well as Back to Campus for prospective students. I want to draw particular attention to the new employee Q&A that addresses many of the questions that we have been receiving. Also included in the Q&A is the Hawk Tracing protocol that is now in place should we receive information about a positive test. Student-specific information is included on their respective intranet, and we are continuously updating the college’s external website. 

I have been closely monitoring the volume of local cases as well as the decisions being made by the School District of Hillsborough County and our sister institutions. I want you and this community to feel confident that we are putting the proper measures in place to protect our students, faculty and staff to the best of our abilities and have contingency plans ready should we need to alter operations. 

I sincerely want to thank everyone for your dedication to your jobs and our students during this incredibly stressful and chaotic time. Please know that I share in your apprehension and look forward to a time, hopefully in the not-too-distant future, when we will return to some sense of normalcy. This pandemic is affecting so many of you in a profound way, and in spite of the turmoil, your resolve and spirit as we have kept HCC operating has been one of my proudest times as your president. You have proven what it means to be Hawk Strong!

Ken Atwater, Ph.D.
College President

I want to provide the college with an update on our return-to-campus planning. We all have been watching the alarming increase in cases both in our region and across the state. It is particularly concerning that the most affected populations are those that would make up a large percentage of our students. I want to again emphasize that we will do everything we can to ensure your safety and that of our students and will not act in haste in the face of this compelling information. 

Regardless of any announced dates, we have finalized as much of the planning that has been possible given the current set of conditions that we are operating under.  Importantly, we have received direction from the Governor’s office that indicates his strong sentiment that we return to campus to start the fall semester. We have been working with local health officials in developing our protocols, and I believe that the current plan, which is clearly dynamic in nature, will provide us with a solid foundation to reopen safely.

Over the last few weeks, our campus teams have been working extraordinarily hard to develop operational protocols, make adjustments to the academic schedule, create physical distancing in our public spaces and classrooms, hang signage, and order PPE and hand sanitizers, in addition to countless other modifications necessary for a safe return to campus. 

I encourage you to visit our SharePoint COVID site and Back to Campus for the latest information on our reopening plans.  One of the most recent additions is Hawk Tracing that establishes the process to follow when a student or staff member tests positive. This has been one of the most important additions to our planning, and I have attached it for your review. It was developed by medical, legal and public health professionals working along with our internal task force, and I hope that you will agree that it adds a critical element in our ability to maintain a safe teaching and work environment.

I want to thank all of the work teams for their Herculean efforts. They have and continue to spend numerous hours researching and developing the resources necessary for our Return to the Nest. I am grateful for their dedication as well as the dedication each of you have provided in these unprecedented and anxious times. 

I will provide another update later next week as we monitor the outbreak closely. In the interim, I hope that everyone has a very safe and happy Fourth of July holiday. 

Ken Atwater, Ph.D.
College President

I want to provide the college community with another update on our return-to-campus planning. The Cabinet met this morning and, out of an abundance of caution, made the decision to modify the dates for employees returning to the campuses as well as the date for students to be able to access the campuses. This is being done primarily for two reasons. First, we want to ensure that we are able to implement the safety protocols as recommended by our reopening work teams before our employees and students access the campuses. Second, we are also seeing a surge in new cases within both Hillsborough County and the state of Florida.

The revised dates of return for staff are now July 13 and July 27. The return date of August 13 for HCC faculty remains unchanged. It is our hope that we can provide some campus services to students beginning on July 20. You will receive additional information tomorrow from Human Resources that provides general guidance on returning to our campuses and facilities. However, as mentioned in last week’s email, supervisors will be communicating with their staff regarding specific details about their departments and individual concerns around our return.

We will continue to communicate with the college community as our plans evolve. I know that this is a time of great uncertainty, and I want to provide every assurance that we are being as thoughtful in our planning as we can. I truly appreciate everyone’s patience and the incredible resilience that you have shown during these unprecedented times. I know that we all look forward to seeing each other and our students back on campus in the near future.  

Ken Atwater, Ph.D.
College President