President's Statement on COVID-19

Updated: May 22, 2020

Report on CARES Act Section 18004(a)(1)  - Download

Update: May 06, 2020

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Reporting- Emergency Financial Aid Grants to Students

Section 18004(e) of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (“CARES Act” or the “Act”)), Pub. L. No. 116-136, 134 Stat. 281 (March 27, 2020), directs institutions receiving funds under Section 18004 of the Act to submit (in a time and manner required by the Secretary) a report to the Secretary describing the use of funds distributed from the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (“HEERF”). Section 18004(c) of the CARES Act requires institutions to use no less than 50 percent of the funds received from Section 18004(a)(1) of the CARES Act to provide Emergency Financial Aid Grants to students for expenses related to the disruption of campus operations due to coronavirus (including eligible expenses under a student’s cost of attendance such as food, housing, course materials, technology, health care, and child care). On April 9, 2020, the Department published documents related to the Emergency Financial Aid Grants, including a letter from Secretary Betsy DeVos, a form Certification and Agreement for signing and returning by institutions to access the funds, and a list of institutional allocations under 18004(a)(1).

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Update: April 20, 2020

CARES Act Student Emergency Fund

Emergency funds in the form of a Federal Grant have been provided to Denmark Technical College to help students impacted by COVID-19.

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Update: April 17, 2020

Panther Notification System (PNS)

The Panther Notification System (PNS) is Denmark Technical College’s urgent notification system, comprised of a variety of methods by which the University can contact students, faculty, and staff.

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Update: March 20, 2020

Update for Denmark Technical College Students from Avis Gathers, VP for Student Services

Effective Monday, March 23, 2020, Denmark Technical College will not offer any on-campus classes and will move all classes to an online delivery for the remainder of the Spring semester. This contains important and timely information regarding the move-out process.  We know this is a very challenging time for everyone and want to make this process as simple—and safe—as possible, along with following safety rules and protocols put in place by our Governor.

Effective immediately, students are expected to plan to move their belongings out of their room in the Residential Halls.al We recognize that this brings some inconvenience to our students, however, we’re asking everyone to be as flexible as possible.

MOVE-OUT PROCESS

*You should anticipate spending no more than two (2) hours packing and moving your belongings.

*Bring boxes and other moving supplies with you to campus at your assigned time.

*Due to health precautions, carts will NOT be provided. 

*Take all trash and recycling out to the dumpsters.  Large items and furniture should be taken with you.

*When your move is complete, close and lock your room door, and bring your keys to the front desk.  Key envelopes and pens will be provided.  Seal the envelope and submit to the Residence Hall Supervisor on duty. This step is crucial for our ability to be aware of who has checked out.  Persons must arrive by no later than 5:00 pm if they plan to move items out of the residence hall.  No persons will be admitted after 6:00 pm.

Move outs begin Friday, 27, 2020 according to the following schedule:

If you have questions or need additional information, please contact either:

Mr. Marcus D. Terry, Assistant Director of Residential Life  terrym@wordpress-396735-1248807.cloudwaysapps.com (email)  (803) 747 – 1099 (cellular phone)

Ms. Avis H. Gathers, Vice President for Student Services gathersa@wordpress-396735-1248807.cloudwaysapps.com (email)   (803) 682 – 0776 (cellular phone)

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Update from President Todd for the Denmark Technical College Family

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Update: March 15, 2020

Update for Denmark Technical College Students

South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster announced today the closure of all South Carolina colleges and universities, effective March 16-31, 2020, in a measure to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.   The College leadership is exploring options to deliver classes online and will communicate student updates through this webpage, student e-mails, the D2L (Desire to Learn) student portal, and the college’s social media.

We pray for the health and safety of you and your families and look forward to you returning to our campus at the earliest possible time.

Update for Denmark Technical College Employees

As many of you may know, in light of the continuing spread of the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) in our State and out of an abundance of caution to safeguard the public health, Governor McMaster has directed the closure of all public institutions of higher education in the State effective Monday, March 16, 2020, and lasting through Tuesday, March 31, 2020, unless such directive is otherwise modified, amended, extended, or rescinded. The Governor’s Executive Order No. 2020-09 is attached for your review and information.

These two weeks will allow time for Denmark Technical College to test our business continuity plan and online instruction module and for the President’s Cabinet to continue to assess the current situation regarding coronavirus (COVID-19) in our service area.

Please note that included in the Executive Order is authority extended to me as President of the College to require personnel designated as essential, or whose presence is otherwise deemed necessary, to be excluded from this Order. Consequently, Public Safety Officers, Parking Enforcement Officers (Gate and Patrolling), and Residence Hall Supervisors (at least for the next two days), and members of the President’s Cabinet will be required to work as previously scheduled or based on a modified schedule. Any scheduled changes for essential personnel will be communicated by the respective Vice President or Associate Vice President, with Presidential approval.

Additionally, the Executive Order allows flexibility to the College to make any necessary and appropriate decisions or arrangements to account for local needs and other unique circumstances, to include establishing or maintaining means to deliver virtual instruction and remote learning, make needed repairs to facilities, and to prepare for upcoming time-sensitive documents to include SACSCOC, the Strategic Plan, etc.

I am convening the President’s Cabinet tomorrow morning to begin discussions around our path forward in the current environment. These discussions will be about the potential of having faculty and staff participate in Zoom conferencing, professional learning to administer online learning, discuss and plan for the impact of our state closure, and lastly, to ensure we are prepared to return to full operations at the earliest possible time.

Please know that any decisions made regarding College operations will be made in full consideration of both our employees and our students.

I pray that you and your family as well as we traverse through these uncertain times. I appreciate each of you and know that you understand that our current circumstances will likely require that we all perform some work-related tasks during these two weeks.

In our effort to keep the Denmark Technical College (DTC) community updated on the College’s actions with COVID-19 (the coronavirus) and the steps underway to ensure your health and safety on campus, College leadership has been and continues to closely monitor the COVID-19 outbreak and is receiving guidance from the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (SCDHEC) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). At this time, no classes are canceled, our campus and satellite sites remain open, as there are no reported cases of COVID-19 on campus nor any known cases in the general service area of the College.

To ensure you always have access to the latest information and guidance, the college has created a COVID-19 webpage that will be continually updated with actions we are implementing to keep you safe and provide ways you can stay healthy, including infection prevention tips and information. Please check this site regularly for the latest COVID-19 updates from the college.

COLLEGE PREPAREDNESS
The College has established a COVID-19 Response Task Force that is guiding our planning efforts and ensuring departmental/program business continuity plans are in place. Additional cleaning and disinfectant actions are being implemented. As part of this plan, we will be wiping down with disinfectants all doors, doorknobs/handles, banisters, water fountains, telephones, elevator buttons, and anything hands touch. Additional hand sanitizer stations will be established and training on proper hand washing and other preventive measures will be scheduled.

STUDENT PREPAREDNESS
A number of colleges and universities in the state have extended student break periods and/or suspended in-classroom instruction due to the COVID-19 outbreak. We are hopeful that Denmark Technical College will not have to move to this measure; however, we are planning ahead for this possibility and preparing resources now for students to receive on-line instruction in the event it becomes necessary to move from a face-to-face mode to an online course delivery mode.

Desire2Learn (D2L) is the college’s integrated online learning platform. Even if you are not taking online courses currently, you should log in to your D2L account now to ensure access to online instructional materials in the event that the college must modify its in-person class schedule. If you need assistance accessing your D2L courses, you can get help by emailing StudentITHelpdesk@wordpress-396735-1248807.cloudwaysapps.com or calling 803-793-5247. Any specific questions related to course content should be directed to your class instructor.

COLLEGE ACTIONS TO HELP MITIGATE SPREAD OF VIRUS TRAVEL
• Once students return to campus, Residence Hall students are strongly encouraged to limit travel outside the tri-county area.
• There will be no college-sponsored travel for students outside of the tri-county area with the exception of mandatory clinical rotations.
• There will be no travel for employees outside of the tri-county area with the exception of travel required to support an essential function. All travel outside of the tri-county area must be approved, in advance by a member of the College Cabinet. Employees should explore video and teleconferencing as alternatives to travel.
• These travel restrictions will remain in effect until further notice. We are continuing to monitor the guidance from the CDC and SCDHEC concerning travel and will revisit the travel restrictions on a weekly basis.

COLLEGE SPONSORED EVENTS
Although SCDHEC does not recommend closing schools or canceling public events at this time, the College has decided to postpone large college-sponsored events until further notice.
More events may likely be canceled; however, we will provide updates through the COVID-19 webpage and the student portal as those decisions are made.

FREE SCREENINGS
The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is offering free virtual care screenings for COVID-19. This service is available through video visits, phone calls, or chats to anyone in South Carolina who is experiencing COVID-19-like symptoms or believes they have been exposed to the virus. Anyone in South Carolina can log on to the following website and get this free screening using the promo code COVID19 when checking out. https://campaigns.muschealth.org/virtual-care/index.html
We are committed to keeping you fully informed as the situation evolves. Please review the DTC COVID-19 webpage frequently to remain updated and continue to practice prevention actions such as handwashing, coughing and sneezing onto your arm, and self-evaluating for symptoms of fever, difficulty breathing, coughing, body aches, and pain.

ON-CAMPUS CONTACTS
If you have specific questions or situations related to the College’s COVID-19 procedures, please contact the following Cabinet members:

If you are a student, please contact: Ms. Avis Gathers, Vice President for Student Services (CSSO)
(O) 803.793.5241 (M) 803.682.0776
gathersa@wordpress-396735-1248807.cloudwaysapps.com

If you are an employee, please contact: Mr. Thomas W. Mayer, Associate Vice President for
Institutional Advancement and Effectiveness (CHRO)
(O) 803.793.5197 (M) 803.571.0481
mayert@wordpress-396735-1248807.cloudwaysapps.com

Working together, we will do all we can to prevent the virus from spreading and pledge to keep you informed on college actions and all that you can do to help.
Forging onward!

Willie L. Todd, Jr., Ph.D.
President and Chief Executive Officer