Southwest Tennessee Community College Announces Return to Campus for Fall

2021

Memphis, TN, April 15, 2021 --(PR.com)-- Southwest Tennessee Community College officials
announced during a virtual Town Hall Forum for faculty and staff yesterday a full return to campus for
Fall 2021. After 13 months of primarily remote learning, officials said the College’s Back to Campus
Plan – Phase IV focuses on getting students and employees safely back for in-person learning and campus
operations in accordance with Health Department and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
guidelines.

“We have already exercised extreme caution by working from home for one year and one month,”
Southwest President Tracy D. Hall said. “We look forward to a return to on-campus operations because of
the nature of the work we do,” she later said.

Understanding the mission of Southwest, Hall said the College will continue to accommodate students
and respond to their needs, despite the challenges of the pandemic. Southwest’s senior leadership and
COVID-19 Task Force have worked diligently to enhance safety protocols already in place and, with
Coronavirus vaccination rates increasing and students asking for in-person classes, administrators are
confident in the college’s reopening. “We will return with the same safety in mind as we have throughout
the pandemic,” Hall said. In addition, face masks and social distancing will continue to be promoted and
enforced until health agencies recommend otherwise.

Regarding classes, a variety of teaching modalities will continue to be offered, including online,
on-campus and hybrid courses that are half online and half on-campus. Southwest plans a shift to about
40 percent of courses offered online and 60 percent on campus. Student support services return to campus
operations April 19. Staff from recruitment, admissions, records, advising, financial aid, and more will
provide face-to-face service by appointment only. In addition, on-campus tours resume April 23 on the
Macon Cove and Union Avenue campuses. The College’s summer bridge programs that prepare entering
freshman for college coursework will be held on campus this summer.

Hall also announced that the Gill Center vaccination site will open April 20 in Frayser as the College’s
second COVID-19 vaccination site. It will be operated in partnership with the City of Memphis and
Shelby County Health Department. “We are the community’s college,” Hall said. “We are obliged and
happy to serve the Frayser community in this manner.” This marks the College’s second vaccination site.
The Whitehaven Center vaccination site has administered 30,000 shots since it opened Feb. 5.

Southwest celebrates this year’s graduates with an in-person commencement ceremony May 1 at 10:30
a.m. at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Designed to provide the safest environment possible, this year’s
ceremony marks the College’s first-ever outdoor commencement. The rain date is May 2. More
commencement information is available online at www.southwest.tn.edu/graduation.

The COVID-19 Task Force will continue to monitor the pandemic and plan accordingly. Additional
information is available on the College’s Back to Campus Plan website at

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Contact Information:
Southwest Tennessee Community College
Diana Fedinec
901-333-4247
Contact via Email
www.southwest.tn.edu

Online Version of Press Release:

You can read the online version of this press release at: https://www.pr.com/press-release/834669

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