The Alabama Community College System (ACCS) will temporarily discontinue on-campus instruction at 23 institutions across the state for the period of March 17 – April 3. Many ACCS institutions have a scheduled Spring Break during this time and students may be asked to extend this break period. This will allow the colleges faculty, staff, and administration to develop a plan for alternative instructional efforts. All events scheduled at the state’s community colleges during this time frame are also cancelled. While classes will not be taking place on campus, ACCS colleges will continue normal operations. Colleges with dormitories will continue to provide basic services to the students who are housed on campus with no alternative options.
“Our students are our number one priority, and while our decision today to suspend courses is unprecedented it is a necessary precaution to ensure the health and safety of the more than 174,000 students we serve across the state,” said ACCS Chancellor Jimmy H. Baker. “Our ACCS response team continues to work closely with the Alabama Department of Public Health on this evolving issue and will continue to do everything we can to help stop the potential spread of COVID-19 in the state of Alabama.”
Alternative instruction plans are being developed by each ACCS college. These plans will be communicated directly to students by their respective institutions next week.
Other ACCS actions related to COVID-19:
- All college-sponsored, supported or work related out-of-state travel and all system office work related out-of-state travel is canceled until further notice.
- If an employee tests positive for COVID-19, or the employee’s child or dependent tests positive and the employee must stay home to provide care, then that employee should stay at home for 14 days and should not be charged sick, annual or personal leave.
- The Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC) has announced the suspension of all regular season competition for all teams, effective March 13 through April 3.
For continued updates and to view already issued directives to ACCS colleges visit accs.edu/coronavirus
