JJC Moving Forward with Phase 3 of Restoring Operations

Joliet Junior College has established the Restore JJC Plan to inform students, employees and community members on operations as it moves through the phases of reopening campus.

The plan aligns with the state’s Restore Illinois Plan, which moved into Phase 3 on May 29th. It provides guidelines for delivery of services, preventive measures, staffing allowances, and more within each of the plan’s five phases. As has been the case through the pandemic, these plans may be modified if state or federal mandates change.

Phase 3 involves limited employees on campus, and most work will continue remotely. Presently, employees in JJC’s Facility Services Department have been permitted on campus to carry out proper cleaning measures, among other responsibilities.

Phase 3 involves limited employees on campus, and most work will continue remotely. This phase will impact JJC departments differently, and specific staffing details will be communicated to each area.

 

According to the plan as it is presented, K-12 and higher education institutions can begin on-site instruction when their quadrant reaches Phase 4 – Revitalization. In the Restore JJC plan link above, you will see what high-level operations at the college will look like in phase 4.

Long-term, we remain vigilant about the health and well-being of our employees as they begin to return to work and other activities in the coming months. The following had already been initiated:

• The purchase of facemasks, gloves and hand sanitizer.
• Installation of plastic barriers in spaces where social distancing is not possible.
• Implementing social distancing markers on the floors to maintain appropriate distance.
• Installation of no-contact thermal thermometers at key points of entry at Main Campus, Romeoville, City Center, Weitendorf and Morris.  No students, faculty, staff or members of the community will be allowed to enter if they have temperature of 100.4 or greater, as recommended by CDC guidelines.

Contingency and communication plans in the event of a COVID-19 case after staff has returned to work will also be implemented and shared.

The Illinois Community College Board convened its statewide Return to Campus committee to discuss reopening campuses in some form in the fall of 2020, and JJC is a participant of this group. This group is providing best practice guidelines for institutions to follow, not mandated requirements.

I am proud that we were one of the first community colleges to announce our fall semester plans. It is our hope that this proactive and early decision will support our faculty in preparing their curriculum, support employee health, and drive students to choose JJC, knowing we provide academic and student support stability now and in the future.

With that in mind, help us get the word out—take control at JJC! Connect with us on social media using the hashtag #takecontrolatjjc.

JJC had previously announced all fall 2020 lecture courses will take place online, with the possibility of in-person labs should conditions be safe for doing so.