Western Nevada College closes campus operations

An update from Western Nevada College President Vincent Solis:

In Gov. Sisolak’s press conference yesterday afternoon, he listed several key measures to continue our fight against the coronavirus. This requires Western Nevada College to make some modifications to our original plans for instruction and operations.

INSTRUCTIONAL CONTINUITY

WNC faculty and staff have been working extremely hard to develop the necessary strategies to restructure the way we deliver instructional materials to our students.

We will proceed as planned and move to remote teaching and learning for the majority of our courses, when classes resume on March 23, although the latest directives from the Governor require us to make additional academic changes.

Nursing and allied health classes (NURS, EMS) will continue in limited capacity, moving to remote/online instruction as much as possible. Labs and clinicals will continue per established medical and CDC established protocols, which includes social distancing and groups of 10 or less.

Career and technical education classes (WELD, AUTO, MTT, AIT, etc.) and Science Lab Classes (BIO, CHEM, etc.) will move to remote/online instruction as much as possible. In-person lab times will be suspended until at least April 20. Over the next 14 days, faculty and directors will work on plans to meet minimum required hours for each class.

Dual Enrollment programs will transition to online delivery, and follow the above plans. Jump Start classes will follow school district plans.

All proctored testing will be suspended until at least April 20. At the point that testing resumes, they will be scheduled by appointment only.

All WNC libraries will be closed until at least April 20. Learning and Innovation staff will continue to support students and faculty with online resources, and will explore additional options, including computers for check out, if available.

CAMPUS OPERATIONS

All campus locations will be closed for physical operations, effective noon Wednesday. We will continue to serve our students remotely using email, phone and video conferencing. Essential student services including admissions, financial aid and advising/counseling will work with one person in each office on campus, limiting contact with students to phone, email or other remote technology. All other WNC services will also continue, but will be done remotely.

We understand that this transition comes with a lot of unknowns. We will continue to explore options to extend instruction and support our students in their classes.

Please visit the college website at www.wnc.edu for ongoing updates. We are working diligently to provide as much information as possible online.