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Category: Covid-19

SMCCCD Social Distancing Protocols for Employees On Campus

Posted on by San Mateo County Community College District

To All SMCCCD Employees:

San Mateo County Health has ordered employers, including the San Mateo County Community College District, to distribute formal social distancing protocols to all employees. These protocols apply to any employee on District property, including the three college campuses and the District Office. This applies to all District employees currently required to work onsite, and will apply to all employees who return to work onsite in the coming months. Please read and keep a copy of these social distancing protocols.

There are five basic rules for social distancing at work:

  1. Do not enter District property if you have COVID-19 symptoms
  2. Maintain a minimum six-foot distance from other people
  3. Sneeze and cough into a cloth or tissue, or into your elbow
  4. Wear a face covering
  5. Do not shake hands or engage in unnecessary physical contact

These procedures are legally mandated by the San Mateo County Health Officer.

Currently, working-from-home remains in effect for most District employees due to the shelter-in-place order in San Mateo County. That order is in effect through May 2020 and may be extended. No decision has been made when to begin recovery back to normal business operations, but the SMCCCD Emergency Operations Center is developing protocols that will be used to restore operations in a safe and responsible way. Those protocols will be communicated with all employees before we begin to return to working onsite.

For all the latest information, visit the District COVID-19 information hub.

Summer Is Officially Online

Posted on by San Mateo County Community College District

In consultation with the Board of Trustees and District Academic Senate, Chancellor Claire and the college presidents have determined that the Summer 2020 term will be delivered in online/distance education format. The decision is made in light of the strong likelihood local shelter-in-place restrictions will limit or prevent a return to normal campus operations over the summer. There may be very limited exceptions for some programs and those will be assessed on a case-by-case basis. 

Faculty who have questions about the online summer session or need access to campus should contact their dean.

Students were notified of the change in an April 27 email and text announcement, encouraging them to sign up for online summer classes and to consult a counselor with any questions.

Working from Home Remains in Effect Through May 2020

Posted on by San Mateo County Community College District

Working from home will remain in effect for all employees except those who have been notified that they are essential workers who must be onsite. The District will continue to monitor local shelter-in-place restrictions to determine when to begin working again on District property.

Please note that any employees required to be on District property must wear face coverings while on any of our campuses or at the District Office.

Employees who have questions or concerns about working from home should consult with their supervisor.

Worried About Zoom Bombing? Download Zoom 5.0!

Posted on by San Mateo County Community College District

Zoom has released new security features on its latest update:

1. Quick reporting for Zoombombing. There have been reports of trolls crashing Zoom video calls. Should a host need to deal with this issue, Zoom has made it easier to boot out unwanted invaders with a new “report user” button.

2. Easy navigation. The Zoom 5.0 update will optimize its user interface so hosts no longer have to rummage through the site to find security options. Zoom will now feature a new easy-access button on the host’s meeting menu bar. You can use it to lock meetings, restrict screen sharing and remove participants.

3. Default waiting room. The existing waiting room feature on Zoom allows hosts to keep guests in a virtual waiting room. When a guest enters the waiting room, the host is then notified and prompted to approve him or her. This feature will now be on by default.

4. Default meeting passwords. Generating a password for guests to enter a Zoom call will now be a default feature on the video conferencing platform. Accessing recorded meetings on the cloud will also require a password by default.

5. Shrouding your notifications. With the Zoom 5.0 update, hosts can opt to veil their Zoom Chat notifications from nosey participants.

6. 256-bit AES-GCM encryption. In layman’s terms, this means Zoom will encrypt your data with a 256-bit key to prevent internet intruders from deciphering your personal information. The means your data in cloud will be even more secure.

7. Manage Participants. change the settings so that only people who are signed-in to their account with the email they were invited to the call through can join the call.

8. Lock Meetings. Lock the meeting after everyone you want there is there, that way no new people can join.

9. File Transfers. Turn off file transfers, private chat & annotations.

Remember as the host you can disable the camera & mute certain participants, permanently or temporarily if needed, you can also remove them. Using Waiting room feature to help control who comes & who goes, don’t let unexpected guest in. 

Additional information about the new version can be found here.

Online Teaching Resources from the State Chancellor’s Office

Posted on by San Mateo County Community College District

The CCC Chancellor’s Office has made available a number of resources to help make the adjustment to online/distance learning. Here are some recent additions:

Teaching online physical science labs: Physical Geography
Wednesday, April 29 from 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.
Online lab sciences leverage technology tools to meet traditional lab learning outcomes. In Allison Lenkeit Meezan’s physical geography class, the labs utilize a variety of online tools to give students hands-on experience observing and manipulating real-world data. Find more information here. Additionally, CVC-OEI has uploaded a recording of the featured session from last year’s Online Teaching Conference.

Online Course Development  Delivery: Science Labs, features four science teachers who share their approach to online lab instruction. It’s available at this link.

You can find all upcoming events on the CVC-OEI Events page. For online instruction support requests, please contact CVC-OEI.

Equity-Minded Online Teaching: Using Canvas as a Model
Thursday, April 30, 2020, 12:00 – 1:30 pm

Professor Jennifer Ortiz will illustrate how to use Canvas with an equity mindset. She will provide examples of techniques and strategies which can be easily applied in any course. For example, she will show participants the video message she uses to welcome students into her class. This session will also have a focus on the implementation of AB705. Register at this link.

This is the second part of a  six-part webinar series presented by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office and the Center for Urban Education. The series provides strategies for faculty and administrators to exercise agency on behalf of the most vulnerable students. Webinars will be recorded and posted on the Vision Resource Center.

College practitioners can find COVID-19 resources, information, and community within the Vision Resource Center. Create an account or log in. Under the “Connect” menu, visit “All Communities” and look for the “CCC | COVID-19 Resources, Tools and Discussion” section. Click “Join Community” to access the content within.

Summer Classes Are Online. Register Now!

Posted on by San Mateo County Community College District

Summer classes will be online, and this is a great time for you to get ahead for the fall or catch up on courses you may have had to drop or missed out on. You’re still on quarantine anyway, so take a class or two! Check WebSchedule for all the courses available to you this summer.

Register Even if You Owe A Little Money!
We know times are hard and we don’t want you to have to sacrifice your education. Even if you owe up to $49 in fees to the District, you will still be able to register for classes this summer. If you owe $50 or more, you will NOT be able to register. Please contact the Cashier’s Office at your College to find out about payment options:

Cañada Cashier’s Office
CSM Cashier’s Office
Skyline Cashier’s Office

Questions? Talk to A Counselor!
Your academic counselors can help guide you to the best courses for your degree or certificate, as well as which classes will transfer to the CSU or the UC. Set up an appointment online:

Cañada Counseling
CSM Counseling
Skyline Counseling

Need to Withdraw Or Change Your Grading Options?
See these New Student Guidelines for excused withdrawal, pass/no pass, and incomplete grading options

Zoom Security Update #2

Posted on by San Mateo County Community College District

Campus Community,

I wanted to send a quick update of the latest enhancements to ensure the security and privacy of Zoom.

First, we want to highlight an upcoming enhancement to Zooms Global Network. We can now customize which data center regions we use for real-time meetings & data in-transit. Additional Improvements to Zoom Platform include:

Configure meeting and webinar password requirements

  • Account owners and admins can now configure minimum meeting password requirements, including a minimum length, requiring letters, numbers, special characters, or only allowing numeric passwords. Past meetings scheduled with passwords will not be impacted. 

Meeting IDs up to 11 digits in length

  • One-time random meetings IDs for newly scheduled meetings and webinars can now be up to 11 digits long. Your Personal Meeting ID (PMI) will remain the same and already scheduled meetings will not be impacted. 

Password for Cloud Recordings 

  • We updated password guidelines for hosts when sharing their cloud recordings for meetings and webinars.  Default will now be ON, and require a complex password to access a shared recording. But we recommend you use Dropbox to store your recordings. 

Message Preview Control (Only Applicable to Zoom Chat Users)

  • Users can enable or disable a setting to show a message preview for chat messages.

Please be sure to update to latest software release to take advantage of these new features, and check out our ITS blog for new updates.

Thanks,
– SMCCD ITS Team

Face Coverings Now Required in San Mateo County

Posted on by San Mateo County Community College District

To All Students at Cañada College, College of San Mateo, and Skyline College:

All people in San Mateo County must now wear a face covering anytime you are outside the home or at work. This is a legal order by the County of San Mateo. Please read these instructions and follow the legal order.

Read the San Mateo County announcement
Read the full text of the legal order

When/Where Do I Have to Wear a Mask?
The order requires everyone to wear face coverings when they are inside or in line to enter grocery stores, laundromats, hospitals, clinics, COVID-19 testing locations, dentists, veterinary clinics, and when they are waiting for or riding on public transportation, including ride shares, Caltrain, and BART. You are not required to wear a mask while jogging, biking, or exercising, but you should still carry a mask in case you come within six feet of another person.

What Type of Face Covering Is Required?
Face coverings can be any type of cloth, fabric, or other soft material that covers the nose and mouth and surrounding areas of the lower face. They can be factory-made or homemade. You can use many things as a face covering:

  • Scarves
  • Bandanas
  • Neck gaiters
  • Homemade coverings made from t-shirt material or other fabric and held with rubber bands 

You can use purchased masks, but do not purchase medical grade masks like N95 respirators, since those are in short supply and should only be used by healthcare workers.

How Can I Make a Mask?
Read these guides from the Centers for Disease Control for making, wearing, washing, and caring for face coverings:
English
Spanish
Simplified Chinese

Watch these videos for easy ways to make your own mask:
U.S. Surgeon General How-to Video
ASL How-to Video

We want all our students to be healthy and safe. Please do your best to follow these new legal orders.

Thank you.

Student Update: Excused Withdrawal, Pass/No-Pass, and Incomplete Grading Options

Posted on by San Mateo County Community College District

Students now have the ability to choose Early Withdrawal from courses, as well as Pass/No Pass or Incomplete grading options for their spring courses. These options are meant to give flexibility to students who are struggling to keep up in the current environment. Students are strongly advised to talk to a counselor before making any changes. Read the District announcement for full details.

Get the Details