NY FORWARD RE-OPENING SAFETY PLAN:

PHASE IV: HIGHER EDUCATION

TROCAIRE COLLEGE

RE-OPENING SAFETY PLAN: PERIOD OF JULY 20, 2020 – DECEMBER 24, 2020

Submitted: July 17, 2020

Bassam M. Deeb, Ph.D. President

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I. Purpose

The following safety plan addresses the reopening of the Trocaire College campus to students for the fall 2020 semester (July 20, 2020 – December 24, 2020). This reopening occurs as part of the Phase IV reopening activities approved by the Governor for certain regions of the state. Western New York entered Phase IV on June 30, 2020. The Reopening New York – Higher Education Guidelines documents (https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/Higher_Education_Summary_Guidelines.pdf and https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/Higher_Education_Detailed_Guidelines.pdf ) were used to formulate this plan. The plan is being submitted via the link provided for private higher education institutions: https://forms.ny.gov/s3/higher-education-reopening.

This reopening safety plan, developed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, seeks to balance the safety of all college personnel, students, auxiliary operations personnel and visitors with the need to provide students with a supportive academic atmosphere within which to enhance their learning outcomes, program completion, and move to become contributing members of society through meaningful work in their chosen profession. It is notable that Trocaire College has a strong history and significant presence in the Western New York region with respect to providing education to individuals who join the ranks of the healthcare professions – graduates who may be critical in helping to fight the continuing COVID-19 pandemic in the future. Among the many healthcare programs offered, Trocaire annually graduates students in Nursing – A.A.S., Nursing – B.S., Practical Nursing – Cert., Radiologic Technology – A.A.S., and Surgical Technology – A.A.S. The general approach and philosophy of this plan is as follows:

Phasing in: Returning the campus to more regular activities will happen in phases. Some administrators have returned to campus already. More will return in the next few weeks. Faculty will join later, followed by a return to campus of students. As each phase becomes operational individuals on campus will evaluate how well practices and procedures are working and will make adjustments as needed.

Hybrid Approach to Instruction:

o Remote Instruction: The majority of learning experiences will be offered in remote, distance-education or alternate format. All lecture-based courses will be offered remotely with no need for students to come to campus.

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o Experiential Courses On Campus: All experiential courses – e.g., labs and simulation exercises – will be offered on campus with social distancing and use of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in place.

o Clinical Experiences: All clinical courses / experiences will be offered in the usual manner at the scheduled clinical location. Neither students nor clinical faculty will need to come to campus for these courses.

Revision in Academic Schedule: Although the normal fall semester length will be

maintained, the academic schedule for some classes has been revised. Beginning on November 23, all coursework will be provided via remote, distance education format. Students will not be required to be on campus from that point through the end of the semester.

Reduction in Workforce on Campus: Beginning July 20, 2020 the college has instituted a 50% return to on-campus work process for all administrative offices. All offices will be staffed when the college is open. However, on any given business day approximately 50% of staff will be on-campus and the remaining 50% will be working remotely.

Phase II – Business Operations: The college’s reopening safety plan currently in place, to cover Phase II reopening of Trocaire’s business / administrative office functions, remains generally in effect and is provided attached with this submission. Information from the Phase II reopening safety plan will not be duplicated here unless necessary, but it can be assumed by the reader that the policies and procedures referenced are currently in place for administrative functions and will continue during the fall semester.

II. Overview of Campus Activity at Present Trocaire College, located in Buffalo, NY, is a 4-year institution of higher education that serves approximately 1,300 students each fall semester and 1,700 unduplicated students annually by offering undergraduate students the opportunity to complete Certificates, Associate degrees and Bachelor’s degrees in a variety of fields, but with special emphasis on applied healthcare and technology programs. Trocaire, with approximately 90,000 sq. ft. in the main campus building, and 15,000 sq. ft. in the Extension Center, is non-residential, has limited food service, no athletics, no gymnasium, and limited gathering space for events. As such, the major normal activities revolve around instruction, provision of student support services, and college administrative functions. In late March, 2020, in response to the Governor’s mandate to close down non-essential New York State businesses in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic, Trocaire College vacated and

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closed all of its physical resources (i.e., buildings and facilities). This occurred at approximately the middle of the spring 2020 academic semester. The college remained operational as an institution of higher education by providing students, faculty and staff the ability to work remotely and / or to use other alternate methods to access instructional material and support services. The spring semester finished in May 2020 and the majority of students who were on track to graduate were able to complete their degrees as planned. On June 11, 2020 Trocaire created a Reopening Safety Plan for NY Forward Business under Phase II using the provided template and submitted an associated attestation form to New York State so that a small number of upper-level managers could return physically to campus and engage in a review of the campus and begin to make changes to enhance the safety of all personnel and students when they eventually return to campus. As part of that plan, the college affirmed that it would follow mandated safety requirements including social distancing measures, cleaning and hygiene, symptom screening, employee tracing, and case reporting. On July 9, 2020 Trocaire submitted an Interim Reopening Safety Plan under Phase IV to the Department of Health – outlining the college’s plan to host students on campus this summer for two specific ‘events’: 1). Bringing a small number of Massage Therapy students and instructors on campus to finish clinical work needed for them to graduate; and 2). Bringing a small number of students and vendor on campus to complete a photo / video shoot so that marketing materials could be updated.

III. Plan For Fall 2020 (July 20, 2020 – December 24, 2020) The current plan outlines how Trocaire College will provide students, employees, auxiliary operations staff and visitors with a safe environment while re-introducing students in a limited fashion to on-campus work during the fall 2020 semester. A. Locations Affected The college locations impacted by this plan and planned for use in on-campus activities include:

Main Campus o The main campus, located in southwest portion of the City of Buffalo, NY,

consists of four buildings: 360 Choate Avenue, Buffalo, 14220 – main campus building 317 Choate Avenue – small building on main campus – Advancement

activities 315 Choate Avenue – small building on main campus - Institutional

Research and Communication activities 2262 Seneca Street – building on main campus – Massage Therapy

Instruction

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Extension Center (Trocaire Achievement Complex)

o The Extension Center, located at 6681 Transit Road, Williamsville, NY 14221, consists of a single building which houses academic programs in hospitality, business and technology as well as the Workforce Development division.

B. Phased Approach - Staff and Faculty Return to Campus Beginning on June 15, under Phase II guidelines, a small number of college administrators returned to campus to assess building traffic flow, need for physical barriers, enhanced cleaning and sanitation, and physical distancing requirements. Beginning July 20, 2020, the remaining administrative staff will return to campus using a 50% daily census model. Specifically, on any given workday and in any given division, 50% of the staff will return to work, and 50% of the staff will remain at home working remotely. Applying a 50% daily census model is meant to ensure that the college continues to meet the Phase II Reopening for Business requirements, and helps to ensure adequate physical distancing for individuals working within offices or areas where it may otherwise be difficult to maintain 6 feet of distance between individuals. President’s Council (PC) members have arranged with their division staff to enable these staggered schedules and the schedules have been provided to the Site Safety Monitor. Phasing in of staff and faculty during this period will occur as follows:

July 20 – August 2: For the first weeks of the plan, the campus building hours will be limited to 8:00 am – 4:00 pm, Monday - Thursday. All buildings will be closed on Fridays except for scheduled cleaning activities.

August 3 – August 16: Beginning August 3, building hours will be adjusted to Monday –

Friday, 8:00 am – 4:00 pm except on Thursday when the hours will be 8:00 am – 7:00 pm. At this point, all administrative offices will be staffed (with 50% of staff on-site and 50% remote) and will be open for students needing assistance. Support services available will include Academic Affairs, Admissions, Bookstore, Financial Aid, Student Billing, Advisement, Tutoring, Career Counseling, and Wellness. During this period, students seeking support services will be encouraged to make appointments so that staff can maintain traffic flow and reduce density in all campus locations.

August 17 – August 30: Beginning August 17, building hours will be extended to 8:00 am – 7:00 pm, Monday – Friday.

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August 31 – End of fall semester: At the start of classes on August 31, the college will resume normal fall semester building hours, which typically are 7:00 am – 11:00 pm, Monday – Friday, and 7:00 am – 2:30 pm on Saturdays.

With return of personnel to campus, all employees working on campus for the day will submit a COVID-19 screener prior to entering campus, which will be tracked by their respective PC member (more detail on screening and tracking is provided below). In addition, prior to their return all staff must complete several training videos addressing Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Workplace concerning COVID-19, and Transitioning to a Remote Workforce offered by the SafeColleges platform. Further training will be provided as employees return to campus using CDC videos and materials as appropriate. Lastly, employees with specific health issues which may compromise their return to campus are directed to work with the Human Resources department to review the need for accommodations and related adaptations. C. Phased Student Return to Campus – August 3, 2020 – December 24, 2020 Trocaire students do not live on premises and therefore commute from the surrounding Western New York region, and particularly from the City of Buffalo and Erie County. As a commuter campus, it is not anticipated that returning students will have traveled extensively in the period prior to the resumption of classes. Trocaire generally does not have the travel issue faced by other, residential colleges, particularly those with a significant international student population. As noted below, Trocaire will screen students during the first week of classes to determine if they have been exposed to COVID-19, or have traveled to areas requiring quarantine. As noted in the preamble, Trocaire is a non-residential college with limited food service, no athletics, no gymnasium, and relatively few large gathering event spaces. Trocaire is an opportunity college that offers career-focused preparation for students motivated to move into a professional career. It is also notable that the majority of the Trocaire student population are non-traditional in age (average age of 27.0 years), and many are also working and /or are raising children. Trocaire students are focused on their education – but after they come on campus for course work, they most often head off to clinical experiences, outside work and / or home to their family-life. The point here is that students do not tend to linger on campus after their classes have ended. Pre-Semester Visits: Phasing in of students will consist of allowing students who seek support services such as advisement or financial aid counseling to begin to come back on campus in limited numbers beginning on August 3. Students seeking these services will be encouraged to make appointments with the appropriate offices. Physical distancing measures will be in place

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to ensure that students do not begin to group together. Of note, all of these student services will also be accessible via remote format, and students will be able to choose which format works best for their needs. Similarly, during this period students will be allowed to access the college’s Barnes & Noble bookstore located at the main entrance of the 360 Choate building. The bookstore is offering students the opportunity to pre-order all books and materials so that such materials can be shipped directly to the student or all materials can be packaged and students can pick up a single package efficiently at the main cashier without needing to travel throughout the bookstore. Physical distancing and use of facial coverings will be required. Whereas in prior years the college has hosted on-campus events prior to the start of the fall semester (for example, program-specific orientation), this year these events will not occur. Program-specific orientation sessions and other welcome events will be held using remote teleconferencing mechanisms. The college does offer access to CPR training for students and faculty engaged in healthcare practitioner programs. CPR certification is required for students and faculty to enter clinical sites as part of their academic training. CPR training will be made available on-site at the Extension Center through the Workforce Development division; individuals taking the CPR certification may opt to access training videos online but will be required to be evaluated for CPR implementation in person. Individuals engaged in training and evaluation will employ use of facial coverings, social distancing, hand hygiene, and frequent cleaning and sanitation of any shared surfaces as needed. Start of Semester: In a typical fall semester, the student census is in the range of 1,300 individuals (fall 2019 enrollment was 1,322, with 1,187 students matriculated in academic programs, and an additional 135 non-matriculated students, the majority of which are high school students taking college courses for credit). The college is currently on track to expecting approximately 1,300 students for fall 2020, with 1,102 students enrolled to date. To reduce the number of students on campus, Trocaire will be using a hybrid approach, mixing remote, distance-education course offerings with some on-campus instruction.

1. Remote Lecture-Based Courses: The majority of the courses offered in the fall semester are lecture-based. As such, these courses are readily adaptable to the remote, distance-education format. Trocaire has a 10+ year history of offering distance education so has the experience, knowledge base and appropriate software applications to support remote teaching and learning. When the college was required to close in late March in response to Governor Cuomo’s mandate, Trocaire faculty and academic administrators were able to pivot relatively well and the majority of students completed their courses on-time and as planned. Those students for whom the change was most

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challenging were generally those needing to complete clinical experiences at outside sites, an issue that was not under the college’s control. 2. On-Campus Experiential Courses: For some academic programs, particularly those in the healthcare practitioner domain, Trocaire requires training in hands-on, experiential material. Examples of these experiential courses include Anatomy and Physiology Lab, Microbiology Lab, Nursing – A.A.S. Lab, Practical Nursing – Lab, Nursing Simulation Lab, Radiologic Technology Lab, Surgical Technology Lab, and Medical Assisting Lab. It is challenging to offer students a comparable experience when providing this material on-line, and in some instances, runs counter to expectations of discipline-specific accrediting bodies and professional licensing expectations. Trocaire has decided to return students to on-campus work only if they are enrolled in any experiential courses or experiences. It is estimated that approximately 700 students (54% of total fall enrollment) will be enrolled in one of these courses provided on campus during the fall semester. To keep students on campus for as minimal a period as possible, the schedule of experiential courses has been adjusted. All experiential courses will start on the normal first day of class and will be completed prior to November 23. Class times will be adjusted to ensure that federal credit hour requirements are met by the end of the semester. Students in experiential courses will be invited back to campus – solely for the purpose of engaging in the course work. During the semester, all non-academic on-site events that would normally be scheduled on or off campus have been cancelled, so for the most part students will come onto campus, take their course, and then leave the campus. Since students generally will not need to be on campus every day of the week, on any given day, the student census is expected to fall significantly below 54% of total enrollment. Physical Distancing Within Classrooms: With respect to individual classrooms and the need for physical distancing, Trocaire has measured out each of the laboratory spaces needed and has reduced the capacity in each space to under 50% of normal capacity. Simultaneously, the college has applied the rule of no individuals being seated closer than 6 feet to any other individual in any given situation. Where lab sections are enrolled at more than the maximally allowed room capacity (adjusted for physical distancing), adjacent rooms will be used to balance classroom occupancy. For example, if 16 students enroll in a lab with normal maximal capacity of 20, and maximal capacity of the lab has been further reduced to nine to maintain physical distancing, then eight students will be seated in one lab room and eight will be

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seated in an adjacent lab. Instructional faculty will move between the adjacent rooms to provide instruction and supervision. As needed, additional sections of the lab classes will be made available. Further information on physical distancing, PPE, hygiene, cleaning and sanitation, screening, tracking and other aspects of the plan is provided in detail below. 3. Clinical Experiences: The majority of Trocaire’s healthcare programs require students to participate in off-campus clinical experiences. Typically, these experiences are provided at one of several of the large healthcare organizations within the Buffalo, NY and Erie County, NY region (including Kaleida Health, Catholic Health, Erie County Medical Center, and the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center). These facilities are generally accepting students back to clinical experiences. Students needing to access one of these facilities are required to follow the COVID-19 screening procedures and hygiene protocols of the respective host facility. Students participating in clinical experiences will not need to come to the Trocaire campus, but instead will report directly to the clinical site. Similarly, clinical faculty will report directly to the clinical site rather than coming to campus. In instances where group discussion / instruction within the course is needed, such discussion will be held using remote applications such as Zoom teleconferencing software or via the college’s learning management system (Blackboard / Moodle). 4. Academic Schedule: The typical fall academic semester includes 15 weeks of instruction; the fall semester start and end dates will not change. However, the schedule of student breaks and need to be on campus will be adjusted. Usually, students are provided with one week of break during the fall semester (2 days at Columbus Day, and 5 days at Thanksgiving). This year, the normal 2-day break at Columbus Day will be postponed and will be added to the usual Thanksgiving break. Classes will be provided during the Columbus Day period. Beginning the week of Thanksgiving (November 23), no further on-campus instruction will be provided and students will not be required to be on campus after that time. As noted, lecture-based courses will continue as designated in the distance education format until the end of the semester. Clinical work will continue at the healthcare facilities as originally planned. Experiential courses provided on-site will be completed prior to November 23 (with adjustments to daily class time made to ensure compliance with federal credit hour requirements).

Students with health conditions or other circumstances needing accommodation will be referred to the Student Affairs office for consideration.

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D. Auxiliary Operations Staff and Other Visitors on Campus Trocaire has business arrangements with several auxiliary operations third-party providers, and has worked with each company to ensure that auxiliary operations will function under all New York State COVID-19 reopening guidance directives. A brief description is provided below. Continuation of Essential Services Certain essential services were allowed to remain in operation throughout the pandemic to ensure safety and security of buildings and physical infrastructure. Essential businesses, via guidance issued by the New York State Department of Economic Development d/b/a Empire State Development (ESD), must comply with the guidance and directives for maintaining a clean and safe work environment as issued by the Department of Health and are strongly urged to maintain social distancing measures to the extent possible. At Trocaire, the following are third-party providers continued providing essential services during the NY Forward response to COVID-19. All employees of these third-party providers who enter the college campus must follow the same screening, use of PPE, physical distancing, and tracing procedures as all college personnel.

1. ABM Industries / ABM Education: ABM Industries is an international provider of building maintenance and cleaning services. As such, ABM provides the college with essential services including maintenance of the facility infrastructure, landscaping, cleaning, disinfection and sanitation. These services continued throughout the entirety of the NY Forward process to ensure the safety, cleanliness and maintenance of critical building systems while the college locations were closed. ABM has provided the college with information related to standard operating procedures followed by its staff for workspaces, social distancing, use of PPE, use of CDC and EPA approved cleaning chemicals, protocol checklists, and employee training. Enhanced cleaning (EnhancedCleanTM Pathogen Control) has been implemented and will continue while the campus is open. Additional staff have been provided to allow more frequent cleaning between use of classroom spaces. ABM has engaged in supply chain management techniques to ensure adequate supplies of critical cleaning products and equipment. ABM personnel working at Trocaire comply with all college safety procedures, including use of facial coverings, filing a daily COVID-19 symptom screener, keeping daily tracing logs, maintaining adequate physical distancing, and engaging in frequent hand-washing. These personnel report through the Associate Vice President for Finance, who monitors them for compliance. 2. Executive Transportation of WNY (d/b/a Giorgio’s Limousine Service): Giorgio’s provides shuttle services to and from buildings on the college’s main campus and area parking lots. This company qualifies as an essential service under guidance for essential

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infrastructure including transportation infrastructure. When the college physical locations were closed in March, there was no need to continue shuttle services. Beginning on July 20, shuttle services will restart to provide transportation service to administrative personal as they return to campus. Practices in place by this transportation company to reduce the spread of COVID-19 infection include: 1). Use of two-stage disinfection with a disinfectant protective coating each day before vehicles enter service; 2). Passenger areas of vehicles cleaned with disinfectant wipes before and after each trip using CDC-recommended cleaning agents; 3). Removal of all material in seating areas that might occasion shared use (i.e., magazines, literature); 4) Daily screening of personnel to ensure they do not have temperatures or symptoms; 5) Use of PPE including face coverings and gloves by chauffeurs; 6). Requiring all shuttle users to wear facial coverings while in vehicles, and 7) Encouraging physical distancing of shuttle users, as practical. These personnel report through the Associate Vice President for Finance, who monitors them for compliance.

3. Amherst Security Professionals: Amherst Security Professionals provides security guards at the college’s main campus buildings in Buffalo NY (360 Choate Avenue, 2262

Seneca Street) as well as at the Extension Center in Williamsville, NY. Security services

are classified as essential services necessary to maintain the safety, sanitation and

essential operations of residences or other businesses. Security guards have remained

on-site throughout the NY Forward period on an as-needed basis. Those working on site

comply with all college safety procedures, including use of facial coverings, filing a daily

COVID-19 symptom screener, keeping daily tracing logs, maintaining adequate physical

distancing, and engaging in frequent hand-washing. Security guards open the buildings

and perform a safety check of buildings prior to allowing individuals to enter. Safety

checks are continued throughout the day as scheduled. A final safety check is

performed at the end of each day prior to building closure. Security guards are familiar

with CDC guidelines to reduce spread of COVID-19. As the college reopens to students,

security guards will monitor high traffic areas and enforce physical distancing

requirements as needed. These personnel report through the Associate Vice President

for Finance, who monitors them for compliance.

4. Advance2000: Advance2000 provides off-site information technology (IT) services to

the college as well as on-site help desk and related IT support service activities.

Advance2000 remained open as an essential business providing essential infrastructure

including telecommunication and data center activities. While the college was closed,

Advance2000 continued to provide remote support of online activity and distance

learning activities but the on-site helpdesk activity was moved to a remote function.

With the resumption of staff on premises, the on-site helpdesk personnel have returned

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to campus. Those working on site comply with all college safety procedures, including

use of facial coverings, filing a daily COVID-19 symptom screener, keeping daily tracing

logs, maintaining adequate physical distancing, and engaging in frequent hand-washing.

These personnel report through the Assistant Vice President of Technology and

Information Services. However, their symptom screeners and daily tracing logs are

provided to the Associate Vice President for Finance. To the extent practical, helpdesk

personnel will provide their services remotely. For example, helpdesk staff have the

ability to ‘remote into’ individual user’s personal computers, and can frequently address

issues without having to physically enter a user’s office. Otherwise, helpdesk staff can

also arrange to visit a user’s office on days or at times when the user is not in the office

or is working remotely for that day.

Phasing In – Non-Essential Services 1. Barnes and Noble: Barnes & Noble operates a small bookstore on the college’s main

campus at 360 Choate Avenue. Bookstore services fall under non-essential services but were permitted to reopen under Phase II of NY Forward as a retail business service. The company has submitted a COVID-19 Reopening Safety Plan under Phase II for Retail – Essential Business (BN#8183 – Trocaire College Bookstore). The safety plan includes ensuring 6 feet of distance between personnel, required use of facial coverings by employees and customers, reduction in staffing for areas with tightly confined spaces, changes in traffic flow within the bookstore to enhance social distancing, use of signage and floor markers showing physical distancing, disinfection of shared areas as needed between customers, maintenance of a cleaning log, availability of hand sanitizer, screening of employees daily for temperatures and COVID-19 symptoms,

2. Food Service: As a commuter, non-residential campus, food service provision at Trocaire has traditionally been limited. Prior to the pandemic, the college used the Aramark food service, operating as a small Tim Horton’s coffee and food dispensary at the 360 Choate Avenue building, to provide limited food service options to students and employees. Supplies for the Tim Horton’s service moved from the adjacent Mercy Hospital via a below grade tunnel to the Trocaire College main building. With the onset of COVID-19, the hospital has been required to restrict use of access points other than the main hospital entrance, and as a result the tunnel has been closed to use by Aramark and the college. Given the likelihood that the hospital will need to continue to maintain the restriction on access points and keep the tunnel closed, the college does not plan to re-open the Tim Horton’s service. Alternate food service opportunities, restricted to ‘grab-and-go’ prepared foods only, and without any shared food or beverage options, are being explored. Further

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consideration is being given to the use of food trucks which will park in front of the main campus building in very small numbers (1 or 2 trucks) at a time. If food trucks are used, social distancing and use of PPE will be required by food truck staff and customers. Otherwise individuals will be able to purchase food and beverage items from the bookstore or via a limited number of vending machines.

Visitors Potential visitors to campus may include but are not limited to:

Non-essential professional service providers including provision of carpet cleaning / replacement, paper shredding services, water dispenser delivery, office products delivery, maintenance of bathroom dispensers, and periodic maintenance of printer / copiers. These service providers report through the Associate Vice President for Finance and will be required to contact the college, don facial covering, maintain physical distancing and complete a symptom screener prior to entering the building. The Associate Vice President for Finance will monitor compliance with these requirements and will maintain the tracing log for all these deliveries and associated personnel.

Applicants for employment. The Chief Human Resources Officer will ensure that applicants for employment adhere to college procedures related to use of facial covering, physical distancing, hand sanitizing, and completion of symptom screening for any days on premises. The Chief Human Resources Officer will maintain a tracing log for any applicant. All such visits to campus will be allowed only on a pre-arranged appointment basis.

Board of Trustee members. Members of the college’s Board will be allowed to visit campus as needed and for meetings. Such visits are generally made by appointment via the Executive Assistant to the President and Board of Trustees. The President’s office will ensure that Board members use facial coverings, complete COVID-19 symptom screening for any days on campus, and otherwise follow the college’s safety plan. The President’s office will maintain a tracing log for all board members who come physically to the college campus.

Delivery to the front entrance, such as U.S. Postal Service, UPS and similar.

All other visitors must have a direct college-business related reason for being on campus, and such visits require prior approval by college administration.

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E. Restart of Campus Operations – Considerations and Guidance The following table provides the college’s approach under this Reopening Safety Plan in reference to the standards and considerations associated with the Interim Guidance for Higher Education During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency information (https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/Higher_Education_Detailed_Gui

delines.pdf) and the Reopening New York: Higher Education Guidelines information (https://www.governor.ny.gov/sites/governor.ny.gov/files/atoms/files/Higher_Education_Summary_Guidelines.pdf) Only those standards pertaining to the activities associated with Reopening Higher Education under Phase IV are addressed in this plan – since the reopening safety plan under Phase II for Business Operations and which covers the entirety of the college’s plan for administrative functions has already been submitted and is already in effect (See attached document).

REOPENING NEW YORK: HIGHER EDUCATION

GUIDELINES

TROCAIRE PLAN

I. PEOPLE

A. Physical Distancing

Ensure 6 ft. distance or wear acceptable face coverings.

All personnel, students, auxiliary staff and visitors will be required to wear face coverings at all times unless there is at least 6 feet of space between individuals. As part of the reopening process Trocaire will distribute two cloth face coverings to all employees, all students, and all auxiliary staff. Additional cloth face coverings will be provided as requested. Trocaire will also keep a supply of single use face coverings at the security desk at the front entrance of all buildings for those attempting to enter without a mask. Generally, activities of individuals on campus do not require a higher degree of PPE. However, individuals providing cleaning and sanitation services via auxiliary services will use N-95 respirators or other PPE under existing industry standards when applying cleaning or maintenance solutions requiring such protection. In general, such cleaning will occur at times when students and personnel are not in the building or in close proximity.

Student residence and physical distancing / quarantine / isolation

Trocaire is non-residential. Students exposed to or infected with COVID-19 will be counseled to remain at home and to seek the advice of their physician and the DOH.

Reconfiguration of Space Physical barriers, such as use of plastic shielding in areas where there is significant one-to-one interaction, will be erected on a

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limited basis. Physical barriers will be placed in such areas as the security desks and at some work stations in the Advisement Center and the Career Center. As noted, only those academic areas involved in experiential classes will be used. All remaining classroom areas will be closed and locked to reduce potential spread of the COVID-19 virus.

Social Distancing Markers Congregation in waiting areas and thoroughfares will be reduced via several approaches. First, physical distance markers will be placed on the floor at 6 feet apart to reinforce the need to maintain appropriate space. Second, small spaces will be reduced in occupancy to a single occupant at a time, or otherwise reconfigured to keep occupancy at or below 50%. In these small spaces, physical distancing markers will be in place. The front lobby of the main entrance, which houses the entrance to the bookstore, will be marked with physical distancing floor markers. Bookstore personnel will monitor physical distancing adherence and will re-direct individuals who are too close. Students desiring to access student support services will be encouraged to make appointments in advance to assist with occupancy reduction efforts. Individuals waiting to access Admissions, Registrar, or other support services will be directed to wait in the Margaret Wendt Center auditorium, which will have reduced occupancy and which has been marked to ensure 6 feet of physical distancing space between occupants.

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Limit Bi-Directional Foot Traffic

Trocaire has made major thoroughfares on the main campus uni-directional. This includes the entrance lobby, access to student support services including Admissions, Registrar, Career Center, Student Affairs, Tutoring, Wellness, and others. Several stairwells have been made uni-directional. Changes to traffic flow have been accompanied by signage and on-floor travel direction arrows. Uni-directional foot traffic is not feasible in other locations both within the main campus building and at other locations due to the configuration of those locations and from a safety / accessibility consideration. In these spaces, campus security will monitor hallways, stairwells and other spaces to ensure that physical distancing and use of face coverings is maintained. Security is able to remotely monitor many of these spaces via security cameras. Given that only students engaged in experiential courses will be on campus, it is not anticipated that this will pose a significant problem. All college staff have been asked to monitor traffic flow and to redirect individuals moving in the wrong direction or if individuals begin to group together.

Limits for On-Campus Spaces

Only staff, faculty, students, auxiliary staff, and approved visitors will be allowed into the college spaces. Front desk security, positioned at the main entrances of the main campus, Seneca Street and the Extension Center buildings, will ask individuals attempting to enter the building for their ID cards or other information to ensure no uninvited guests enter the premises. The front door of all campus buildings will be the only available entrance; there are other methods to exit the building from inside (in case of emergency) but otherwise these access points will be locked from outside. Larger gathering areas are relatively limited at Trocaire, but do consist of, on the main campus, the Margaret Wendt Center auditorium, the Commons, the Library, lounge areas, and at the Extension Center in the Learning Commons area. The Margaret Wendt Center auditorium, which is adjacent to the lobby, will be repurposed from a general gathering space to a waiting area to address overflow from the lobby area. As such,

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occupancy has been reduced to below 50% and physical distance markers have been provided. The Commons area will be reconfigured by removing tables and chairs so that less than 50% occupancy is possible. Spaces for seating will be marked so that seating is not moved inadvertently. The Library has been evaluated for physical distancing and reduction to 50% occupancy. Table and chairs have been removed and spaces for seating have been marked so that a 6 foot distance between individuals can be maintained. Small study / lounge areas, which are dispersed throughout the main campus, will be reconfigured to ensure 6 foot distance between seating. Excess seating will be removed. Most of these study lounge areas are in the hallways on several floors of the main campus building. Enclosed lounge areas (Veteran’s Lounge, Meditation Room) will be closed and locked since social distancing cannot be evaluated once doors are closed.

Limit In-Person Gatherings

Trocaire will not host typical college events that would cause large numbers of individuals to gather on campus. Many of these events are educational in nature and aimed at supporting the student experience, often provided as programming by Student Affairs. Rather than holding such events on campus, these events will switch to remote access only and will be live-streamed or recorded for later access by students.

Identification of Student Residence

As noted above, Trocaire is non-residential. As such students who have been exposed to COVID-19, who demonstrate symptoms of COVID-19 or who test positive for COVID-19 will be counseled to not come on campus and will in general return to their home. Trocaire will work with the Erie County Department of Health as needed to assist with tracking individuals with such exposures.

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Signage Signage will be posted throughout all campus buildings, consistent with DOH COVID-19 signage, reminding individuals to stay home if they feel sick, to cover their nose and mouth with an acceptable face-covering, to properly store and, when necessary, to discard PPE, to adhere to social distancing instructions, to report symptoms of or exposure to COVID-19, and how they should do so, to follow hand hygiene and cleaning and infection guidelines, and to follow respiratory hygiene an cough etiquette.

B. Gatherings in Enclosed Spaces

Gathering in Small Spaces Small spaces, such as elevators, rest rooms, copy rooms, etc. do not allow for social distancing. Therefore, such spaces will be limited to the extent that there is always at least 6 feet between occupants or, in most cases, only one occupant at a time; signage stating this is posted at all such locations. In addition, these areas will have hand-sanitizing stations located in close proximity. All personnel, including staff, faculty, administrators and auxiliary staff, as well as all students, will wear face coverings whenever within areas where 6 feet of physical distancing is not possible. Facial coverings will be required in all public spaces, and in all classrooms. Ventilation to the outside air will be accomplished by keeping windows open until weather conditions require them to be closed.

Encourage video or teleconferencing

As noted, Trocaire will limit on-campus coursework to the bare minimum. All lecture-format courses will be offered via remote, distance education approaches. Only experiential course work will be offered on campus, and as such the on-campus census will be at or below 54% on any particular day. Similarly, classrooms have been adapted to ensure less than 50% occupancy and 6 feet of physical distance between all individuals. Personnel needing to hold meetings will be asked to use videoconferencing applications, such as Zoom, whenever feasible.

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Non-Essential Amenities and Communal Areas

Access to non-essential amenities / communal areas will be restricted. Restrooms have all been made single occupancy and signage has been posted. Small kitchen areas and the Staff Lounge on premises will be kept open for storage of perishable food items and use of the microwave. Individuals may occupy these areas solely to obtain food or beverages and will not be allowed to congregate. Occupancy will be limited to one person at a time. Individuals have been instructed to clean shared areas using available disinfectant / alcohol wipes before and after accessing these areas. Staggering of staff who would normally access these areas has been enhanced by reducing the daily census of staff to 50% on any given day. Staggering of classes to reduce congestion in walkways has been accomplished by substantially reducing the number of on-campus classes. Vending machines will be made available but in limited quantity. On the main campus, two new vending machines will be installed in the Commons area, with physical distancing markers in evidence. Three will remain in the lower level space with physical distancing markers in evidence. At the Extension Center, the single vending machine will remain operational. Individuals will be asked to wipe down shared surfaces in the vending areas both before and after use. Food service, previously provided by Tim Horton’s via Aramark, will be discontinued for the fall semester. Student Affairs is negotiating with outside food service providers to determine if it is feasible to reintroduce some form of ‘grab-and-go’ food items at a single location on campus (Commons). In addition, several food truck vendors have been approached to potentially schedule weekly visits. Food trucks will operate under NYS reopening guidelines for food service activities.

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C. Operational Activity

Mix of in-person and remote classes

As noted, the majority of Trocaire courses will be offered in the remote, distance education format. Only experiential courses (labs, simulations) will be offered on-campus for the fall semester. Although the fall semester length is unchanged, the academic schedule has been adjusted. Whereas previously there was a 2 day break around the Columbus Day holiday, that 2-day break has been postponed and rescheduled to occur during the week of Thanksgiving. In particular, beginning the week of November 23, all courses will be moved to remote, distance education only.

Staggering Work Hours All operational staff will follow a 50% daily census approach, using staggering of personnel and schedules so that at any given day, only 50% of staff are on campus. During the remaining work days staff will work remotely.

COVID-19 Cases If COVID-19 cases develop, affected areas will be quickly identified, closed down, disinfected, and returned to normal operations only after it is deemed safe to do so. As a non-residential college, there is no need to keep areas open to ‘contain the spread.’ As needed, in the event that an individual tests positive for COVID-19, the college may temporarily move potentially affected classes or areas of the college to remote format until the area has been sufficiently cleaned and disinfected. Further, positive cases will be discussed with the DOH to assist with tracing and clearing impacted individuals.

D. Movement and Commerce

Pick-ups and Deliveries Pick-ups and deliveries are generally made to the front lobby of the main campus building or the front lobby of the Extension Center. Security monitors such deliveries and stores items as necessary after providing notice to the areas expecting the delivery. Contact between delivery persons and college personnel will be limited.

Limit On-site Interactions Access to the college buildings will be via the front door, which for most buildings is staffed by a security guard. A few of the small buildings on the main campus do not have a security guard; for these spaces the front door will be kept locked at all times and the spaces will only be accessible to the employees who work in them or cleaning staff.

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Areas surrounding the front lobby, where feasible, have been made uni-directional to decrease traffic flow. Security will monitor occupancy of the front lobby and direct individuals to assigned waiting areas as needed. Individuals needing access to the building (e.g., to service printers, switch out carpets, etc.) will be required to wear facial coverings and will complete the daily symptom screening form prior to moving into the building. The Associate VP for Finance will maintain a tracking log of all such third-party vendors.

II. PLACES

A. Protective Equipment

Provision of Face Covering

The college has purchased and has on hand a supply of disposable face coverings (masks), which will be made available to all personnel, faculty, students, auxiliary staff and visitors as needed. The supply on-hand is sufficient and will be replenished periodically as needed. At the start of the semester, Trocaire will provide all staff, faculty, students and auxiliary staff two reusable cloth facial coverings. Individuals will also be permitted to bring their own disposable and reusable face coverings from home.

Proper Handling of Face Coverings

Individuals using disposable face coverings will be told to discard the face covering at the end of each day. Individuals using reusable face coverings will be told to wash their face coverings regularly and/or to switch out with clean substitute coverings. Individuals will be told to never share face coverings with anyone else. Receptacles for used PPE will be available at each site.

Wearing Face Coverings All employees, students, auxiliary staff, and visitors will be informed that they must wear facial coverings in common areas or in situations where social distancing may be difficult to maintain. Security at the front entrance will ensure that all individuals entering the college have facial coverings in evidence or will be provided with a facial covering to wear. For most classroom activity, facial coverings will be used at all times. This is particularly the case for instances when individuals may be unable to maintain 6 feet of distance.

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No individual will be prevented from wearing their own personally owned protective coverings as long as they abide by the minimum standards of protection for the specific activity.

Training Employees, students and auxiliary staff will be provided with training on how to adequately put on, take off, clean and discard PPE. Trocaire will use CDC provided videos as the training platform. These include: Considerations on Keeping Students Safe for Fall (15 minutes): https://www.cdc.gov/video/socialmedia/GMT20200713-190223_CDC-COVID-_1920x1080_Trim.mp4 Demonstration of Donning (Putting On) Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) (4 minutes): https://www.cdc.gov/video/socialmedia/316343_DonningPPE_final_lowres_2.wmv How to Wear a Cloth Face Covering (30 seconds): https://www.cdc.gov/wcms/video/low-res/coronavirus/2020/1350135020317296_How-to-wear-face-covering.mp4 What You Need to Know About Handwashing (2 minutes): https://www.cdc.gov/video/cdctv/handwashing/306898_WYKTK_Handwashing.mp4

Sharing Objects Trocaire has made changes to spaces and procedures to reduce the number of instances where individuals will need to share objects. Where this is not feasible, employees will be provided with instruction on how to clean shared objects before and after use and with appropriate cleaning supplies and alcohol wipes.

B. Hygiene, Cleaning and Disinfection

Adhere to hygiene and sanitation requirements from CDC, DOH and maintain cleaning logs.

The cleaning log is maintained by Richard McGilvray, Director, Facilities and will be kept in his office. Mr. McGilvray has created and maintains an up-to-date cleaning schedule and share an electronic copy via email or shared internal drive with employees on premises as necessary. On a daily basis, individual cleaning staff will complete cleaning logs for the rooms / areas they are responsible for cleaning. Such logs will contain information on the room / location, time of cleaning, and scope of cleaning as appropriate. Individual logs will be provided to the Director of Facilities at the end of each shift.

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Provide and maintain hand hygiene stations (handwashing, hand sanitizer)

The college main campus buildings and Extension Center have restrooms on every floor and in close proximity to every working area and each has functional sinks, faucets and soap dispensers. In addition, some individual offices also have access to private single-use sinks and faucets. These facilities will be regularly cleaned and maintained and will be stocked with ample hand soap, paper towels and trash receptacles. Hand sanitizing stations are located throughout the main campus and Extension Center buildings. Employees, students, auxiliary staff and visitors will be encouraged to frequently wash their hands and to use hand sanitizer when access to hand washing is not immediately available. However, individuals will be advised that hand washing with soap is the preferable method for hand sanitation. Hand sanitizer stations will have signage indicating that soiled hands should be washed with soap and water. Individuals will be provided notice that alcohol-based hand sanitizer can be flammable and may not be suitable for certain areas on campus. Trash receptacles will be in evidence in areas where soiled items, such as used PPE and paper towels, need to be disposed.

Cleaning of Shared Surfaces

To the extent possible, personnel, students and visitors will be kept from sharing objects or touching shared surfaces. Employees will be provided with instructions and supplies to clean commonly used shared surfaces, if present (e.g., keyboards, desks), both before and after use. Hand sanitizer will be made available near high-touch surfaces. Keypads for printer / copiers will be cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis. Alcohol-based wipes will be made available so that employees may clean keypads before and after use. Other potential shared objects are tables and chairs in group meeting areas. Available group meeting areas will be kept to a minimum. Those group meeting areas that are available will be cleaned / disinfected on a regular basis. Staff using these areas are advised to contact Facilities personnel so that any shared objects can be cleaned after the meeting.

Conduct regular cleaning and disinfection.

Trocaire employs the services of a third-party facilities vendor, ABM Industries, Inc., to both clean and maintain all college property.

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Facilities management and other auxiliary staff have developed a cleaning / disinfection schedule which will cover all areas of the college and which was implemented during Phase II of reopening. Products used by Facilities are those certified by the manufacturer to be effective against viruses and specifically against COVID-19 per CDC guidance. Areas which have heavier use (e.g., hallways used for transit) will be cleaned and disinfected more often. Areas not being utilized during reopening (e.g., Veteran’s Lounge) will be locked or otherwise secured and provided with signage indicating that entry may not occur without contacting building management. Areas with shared use or shared objects (e.g., copy / printer rooms) will be cleaned / disinfected on a frequent and regular basis. In addition, all such areas of shared use will have on hand ample cleaning supplies. In the event an individual (staff, student or vendor) who participates in one of these activities tests positive for COVID-19, any areas of the campus that have been exposed to those individuals will undergo thorough and comprehensive cleaning and disinfection.

Shared Bathrooms The majority of bathrooms on campus will, out of necessity, be shared spaces though each bathroom has been designated as single occupancy. Signage has been put into place indicating that each space is single occupancy. Paper towel dispensers are present in all bathrooms. No personal items will be stored in shared bathrooms, with the exception of the very few bathrooms on campus which are accessible and used by a single individual.

Cleaning in COVID-19 cases

When someone is suspected or confirmed to have COVID-19, the Facilities director will be contacted and areas frequented by that individual will be closed off; doors and windows will be opened as allowable; after waiting 24 hours when feasible, the areas used by that individual will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. Only after the areas have been designated as clean and sanitized will those who have not had proximate or close contact to the potentially infected individual be allowed to return to the areas.

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Shared Food and Beverages

The college will not allow any shared food and beverages among employees, students, auxiliary staff, or visitors. No take-out deliveries will be allowed. Employees will be encouraged to eat meals in their office space. If not practical, employees will be allowed to use the Commons area for meals, but only by following physical distancing requirements and not sharing utensils, food, beverages, or other items. Depending upon the need and availability, limited food service, consisting of individual ‘grab-and-go’ items, may be provided. However, no buffet food service nor shared food items will be provided.

Phase-In Reopening Trocaire has engaged in phasing in activities since it brought individuals back on campus in late June, and will continue to phase individuals in. To begin, in June the college brought back approximately 30 administrative managers to work on plans for reopening. On July 20, the college will phase in the remaining administrative staff. However, only 50% of those staff will be on premises at any point in time, with the remainder working remotely. Students will not be invited back to campus until the week starting August 3. Students coming on campus at this point in time will be allowed to meet with Admissions, Financial Aid, Student Billing, purchase items from the bookstore, and similar. Students will not be allowed to congregate on campus for non-official reasons. On August 17, faculty may return to campus. On August 31, the college will be open as usual using a typical fall semester schedule and building hours. As noted previously, however, visitors will be screened at the main entrance to ensure only those with the necessity to be on premises are allowed into the campus buildings.

D. Communication Plan

Affirmation of review and understanding of state-issued industry guidelines.

Trocaire administration has reviewed all published New York State industry and Phase guidelines. Trocaire created a Site Safety Plan and submitted a limited reopening attestation on June 12, 2020 to cover reopening of Phase II Business Administrative Operations. On July 9 2020, Trocaire submitted an Interim Reopening Plan to cover a small number of student events during the summer and leading up to the fall semester.

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Engage with Campus Community Members

Trocaire has issued a number of communications to students, employees and auxiliary staff to provide information on the college’s plans to reopen. Such communications have been sent via email and have been posted on the college’s web site. Feedback from affected individuals has been encouraged and incorporated into the plan as feasible. It may be difficult for individuals to provide constructive feedback about reopening plans until they have been able to come back physically on campus. One major purpose of phasing-in of reopening by having administrative staff begin to return to campus on June 15 was to engage such staff to review the reopening plan and the changes made to the physical environment and to ask them to provide feedback related to concerns, planning needs, and other information. Every PC member has asked their staff returning to campus to provide feedback on reopening activities and procedures. As more administrative staff are allowed back on July 20, the college will continue to engage with them to seek their feedback and make adjustments as needed. This engagement process will continue in an iterative fashion with each group of individuals as they return to campus (i.e., staff, faculty and students).

Communication Plan The college Communications Office, working with an external third-party communications vendor, has developed a communication plan which includes communications to employees, students, parents or legal guardians, and visitors to inform individuals about reopening instructions, training, signage and as a consistent means to provide individuals with information. The Communications Office has worked with the college President and the Site Safety Monitor to develop and implement a number of campus-wide communications, and these will continue on a regular basis or as needed in the case of a specific issue or event.

Encourage use of PPE Trocaire, in its communications with students and employees, has emphasized the necessity of wearing facial coverings when in public areas on campus or when otherwise unable to adhere to physical distance of 6 feet.

Points of Contact The Senior Vice President, Dr. Richard Linn, is identified as the site safety monitor with responsibility for continuous compliance with all aspects of this plan.

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Contact information is: Richard T. Linn, Ph.D., Senior Vice President, linnr@trocaire.edu, (716) 827-4351. In the event of his absence, the site safety monitor responsibilities will revert to the President or his designee. Dr. Linn will work with: Ms. Jan Peters, Chief Human Resources Officer, petersj@trocaire.edu, 716-827-2559 to address any Human Resource issues which occur as part of these events. The SVP has communicated this information to the Erie County Department of Health, Epidemiology Division, and his contact information was included in the Phase II Reopening Plan developed previously.

Posting Reopening Plan The current reopening plan will be posted on the college’s internal shared networked drive (accessible by all employees) and a physical copy will be maintained at the security station at the front entrance to the Choate Avenue, Seneca Street and Transit Road locations.

III. PROCESSES

A. Screening and Testing

Mandatory Health Screening

All personnel, all students, all alumni and all guests / vendors will be required to complete a symptom screener to ensure they do not have symptoms of COVID-19. If they respond ‘Yes’ to any question, they will not be allowed to enter the buildings or campus and will directed to make contact with their division supervisor. Screening includes questions about COVID-19 symptoms in the past 14 days, a positive COVID-19 test in the past 14 days, and / or close proximity to an individual with confirmed or suspected COVID-19. Additional questions on the screener include queries about individuals arriving from other states or countries which are currently on the list provided by New York State (Guidance from Executive Order #205 requires individuals who have traveled to

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certain locations and return to New York State to be quarantined or if someone has been in contact with someone who has traveled to those locations). Employees: The college has made the employee / visitor screening form available on its main web page at the following location: https://my.trocaire.edu/covid-19-employee-visitor-screening-form/ All employees, including administrative staff and faculty, who plan to come to campus are required to complete this form before entering the building. The form is directed to their President’s Council member who is tasked with reviewing the forms and tracking compliance and symptoms within their division. Auxiliary Staff: All on-site auxiliary staff, including those working on the on-site bookstore, cleaning and maintenance, security, and IT Helpdesk, must complete the same symptom screening form for any day they plan to be on campus. Their forms are directed to the Associate VP for Finance who will review the forms and keep track of individuals in those areas. Visitors: All other visitors, including regular service providers (carpet cleaning, printer servicing, shredding contractor, etc.) will be required to complete a symptom screening form prior to entering the building. Their forms are directed to the Associate VP for Finance who will review the forms and keep track of individuals in those areas. Students: It is impractical to screen students on a daily basis. Students will be asked to complete the symptom screening form four times between the start of classes on August 31 and November 23 (the point when on-campus classes are no longer being provided). This process will take place:

The week of August 31

The week of September 14

The week of October 5

The week of November 9

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A web-based symptom screening form will be posted for use by students. Forms completed by students during these times will be directed to a specific Student email in-box. Screening of forms will be performed by downloading the web-based database that the forms information collates to, and comparing these data to known data of student on-campus enrollment in experiential classes. Individuals with positive symptoms screens will be flagged for further follow-up. Students who do not submit a screen will be identified and contacted by Student Affairs. Using its Institutional Research function, Trocaire has the ability to track the overall number of students with symptoms and to evaluate if there are early warning signs that symptoms are on the rise. The Institutional Research function reports through the Senior Vice President, who also serves as the Site Safety Monitor. Students and prospective students coming on campus to address administrative issues prior to the start of classes (such as meeting with Admissions staff) will be asked to complete a screening form as they enter campus at the security desk.

Positive Screening/ Testing

Trocaire College has no health services or practitioners on campus; as a result the college will not be performing COVID-19 testing. Any individual (staff, faculty, auxiliary staff, students, visitors) who report that they have tested positive for COVID-19, have had COVID-19 exposure or symptoms, or have traveled to areas with high infection rates per NYS quarantine directives will not be allowed to enter the college campus and will be referred to their health care provider for further assessment and reporting to the Department of Health as appropriate.

B. Tracing and Tracking

Notification of NYS and Erie County Health Department

Trocaire College has previously established contact with the Epidemiology Division of the Erie County Department of Health and is aware of how to contact them in the event of notice that an employee, student, auxiliary staff, or visitor is found to test positive for COVID-19. In turn, the Erie County Department of

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Health has been provided with Trocaire College’s contact information should they need to contact us for contact tracing.

Containment, Isolation and Quarantine

Should an employee, auxiliary staff, student or visitor evidence symptoms while on campus, if able such individuals will be counseled to leave campus immediately and to seek professional medical attention. Trocaire’s main campus building is located on the campus of Mercy Hospital, and the college main campus building is immediately adjacent to the Emergency Room. If needed, individuals with medical issues can access the Emergency Room and will follow the hospital’s normal screening process. Should an individual on the main campus be unable to leave safely by themselves, the college is able to either escort the individual directly to the Emergency Room or to quickly engage emergency medical personnel for on-site evaluation. If a situation arises at the college’s Extension Center, campus security evaluate the situation and will either counsel the individual to seek medical attention or will contact emergency medical services as needed. In the event that a positive or potentially positive case occurs, Trocaire will close down the affected area immediately after the individual has left the area and identify/ notify individuals who may have been in proximate contact. Cleaning and sanitation of the area will take place 24 hours after the area has been closed, if feasible.

Work with DOH to trace contacts

Trocaire employees are all required to keep a daily tracing log reflecting locations of the campus where they have spent time and individuals with whom they have come in close contact while at work. These daily tracing logs are available to the employee’s supervisor / President’s Council member. Upon notice that an employee has become COVID-19 positive, Trocaire will work with the county DOH department to provide information to assist with tracing contacts who might have been exposed. Although students are not required to keep a daily tracing log, the college is able to determine the student’s class schedule via the Registrar’s office and can provide information related to the schedule and classes attended to the DOH as requested.

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Reporting plans for close or proximate contact

See above. Upon notification that an employee, student, auxiliary staff or visitor has come into close or proximate contact with an individual with COVID-19 infection, Trocaire will reach out to the Erie County Department of Health to provide contact tracing information.

Responsible Parties should refer to DOH’s “Interim Guidance for Public and Private Employees Returning to Work Following COVID-19 Infection or Exposure” regarding protocols and policies for individuals seeking to return to work or class after a suspected or confirmed case of COVID-19 or after individuals have had close or proximate contact with a person with COVID-19.

Trocaire will follow the DOH guidance regarding returning individuals to work or to class following COVID-19 Infection or Exposure. As noted, upon notice that an individual has COVID-19 infection or exposure, the college will work with the Erie County Department of Health to ensure that DOH guidance is followed.

IV. Need for Plan Adjustment and/or Closing Down A. Adjustment to Plan As employees and students return to campus in August, it is likely that there will be a need to adjust aspects of the current plan – especially as it is found that procedures and related implementation are not working as expected. Employees and students will be provided the opportunity, as part of the college’s Communication Plan, to provide feedback and to voice concerns. Each member of the President’s Council heads up a division of the college; PC members will regularly poll their divisions to provide employees and students the opportunity to raise questions and provide feedback.

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All major concerns will be conveyed to the President’s Council membership for review, evaluation of the need for change and potential implementation. In addition, the Senior Vice President serves as the Site Safety Monitor and works closely with the Vice President for Academic Affairs, the Chief Student Affairs Officer, the Chief Human Resources Officer and the Associate Vice President for Finance so that any ad hoc or formal changes to building cleaning, safety, security, screening, tracing, personnel policies, student issues and similar can be quickly addressed. B. Plan to Close Down the Campus as Needed In the event the college needs to close down its physical presence, either due to internal or external factors, a number of processes are in place to ensure continuity of service provision and educational instruction. Operational Factors: As a non-residential campus with very limited food options, Trocaire can be relatively nimble if it is needed to close down college buildings or operations. Without students living in residence halls, within 24 hours of notice or less Trocaire can close its buildings and move to remote operations. A small contingent of maintenance / facilities / security / technology staff is able to ensure that building systems remain safe and operational. Employees, both faculty and staff, live in the WNY region and can relatively easily move their functions back to their remote home-based workspaces. Since the college will be adhering to a 50% daily census of employees, and since on any given day the census of students is likely to be less than half of the normal daily census, the need to close quickly will be easier to implement. Further, since all employees and most students will continue to spend part of their time each week using remote, off-site applications, a sudden shift to remote-only work will not be as disruptive as it was in spring. To this end, the college has employed a number of approaches to ensure consistency and functionality of college operations, even if such operations are provided remotely. These include:

1. Cloud-Hosting and VMWare – The college’s technology platform, including email, access to the student information system, student billing, accounting, and access to individual and shared files, is cloud-based and hosted by a third-party provider (Advance2000). These cloud-based resources can be securely accessed remotely using the VMWare application. VMWare provides individuals with the ability to open files and applications, work securely on those files and applications during a session, and then to save work and close the session. All employees have access to VMWare to support college operations.

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2. Unit 4 / CAMS Student Information System – Trocaire uses the Unit 4 / CAMS (CAMS) student information system as the repository for student information and related transactions. Staff and faculty can access CAMS using the VMWare solution as described, but also have access to CAMS via cloud-based eFaculty Portals. Similarly, students have access to certain functions of CAMS via eStudent Portals. These functions can be accessed remotely as needed. 3. Blackboard / Moodle – Trocaire employs the Blackboard version of Moodle as the underpinning of its Learning Management System. This platform hosts instructional content and course management applications, allowing for remote instruction and faculty and student engagement while employing a distance education format. Blackboard allows for direct communication between students and instructors, posting of materials and assignments, and other functions to support remote access to instruction and group interchange. 4. Panopto – Trocaire uses the Panopto services to provide access to online videos – so that faculty can create, host, search, share and stream video content as needed during provision of instruction. Faculty can pre-record lectures and demonstrations, and post these videos to the Blackboard site so that students have remote access to instructional content. In addition, Panopto is used by other divisions, such as Student Affairs, to provide video content for non-curricular information. 5. Zoom – Trocaire uses Zoom teleconferencing software as its platform of choice to allow remote interactions of employees, faculty and students. College users of zoom have experienced wide success in hosting and attending virtual meetings; such use will continue even while the college is in operation for the fall to help maintain physical distancing and decrease the opportunity of person-to-person transmission. 6. USB Microphones / Cameras – It was determined that not all personal computer’s on campus had functioning microphones / cameras. With resumption of on-campus activity, the IT department has surveilled the campus and has purchased USB microphone and camera devices to ensure that faculty and staff have access to appropriate equipment. In the event that the college needs to shut down, faculty and staff may take these devices home and simply plug into their home computing device. 7. Emergency Notification System – Trocaire uses an Emergency Notification System (ENS) that is accessible remotely by the Communications Office and Assistant Vice President for Technology and Information Services. The ENS is pre-loaded with student and employee contact information, updated each semester, and is used to send out emergency directives and information as needed.

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8. College Web Site – The Communications Office and the Assistant Vice President for Technology and Information Services can access the college web site and post information and official college communications as needed. Remote access to the web site is available.

Further upcoming changes to the college infrastructure include implementation of a remote, on-line exam / proctoring application, implementation of a password management system access remotely, and consideration of deployment of Virtual Desktop (VDI) applications. Other Factors: Closing the college during the fall semester will occur in a manner and degree as required to meet either the internal or external factors causing the closure. The college is small in size, has a relatively small student body and relatively small number of employees. For example, given the small physical footprint of the college, temporary closing to ensure adequate cleaning and sanitation after exposure to COVID-19 is fairly easy to accomplish. Closure in response to government mandates, including the need to close down the entire campus and which may last for longer periods of time, will be handled in a manner similar to that applied in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic. To the extent possible, on-site operations will be decreased in a staged approach. First steps will include closing down on-site classes and moving them immediately to remote operation. On-site functions and staff will phase to off-campus remote work. Due to the infrastructure considerations noted in the previous section, along with the college’s plan to maintain a 50% daily census, movement to remote operations will be accomplished relatively smoothly. If allowed, a small maintenance / security / IT staff presence will be maintained on-site to ensure safety and preservation of infrastructure. As faculty and staff return more fully to campus in August, information will be provided to all employees to ensure that all employees are prepared to move to remote functioning quickly and on short notice for as long as is necessary. Similar information will be provided to students. Trocaire will continue to maintain contact with the area Department of Health to ensure coordination in the event of an emergency, and will also closely monitor guidance provided by New York State related to requirements to remain open or to close as provided.