In response to the concerns brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, colleges across the nation are grappling with questions and challenges. At Patrick Henry Community College (PHCC), where enrollment days typically involve face-to-face advising and lines of students – the challenge was to redesign the advising process in just a matter of weeks.
Together, PHCC’s advisors and a new committee –the college’s president calls it the “Safe Welcome Back” committee– have developed a creative solution.
“First, we picked one of the largest spaces we have on campus so we can spread out our advising stations as much as possible. We’ll have enough room to be well over six feet apart,” said Dr. Virginia Jones, the dean of Student Success and Enrollment Services.
In addition to spacing everyone out, the college will also deploy many other safety precautions including installing shields and hand sanitizer at advising stations and providing each student with their own pen and mask if they need one. The biggest change in all of these safety measures is that students will need to pre-register for their advising session. There will be six available appointments at each thirty minute interval throughout the day.
“By scheduling an appointment beforehand, students will avoid lines and will actually help us get a head start on their advising. With their registration, we will be able to do some preliminary work to ensure that students are connected with the best-match advisor and any needed paperwork can be completed quickly,” said the head of PHCC’s advising center, Travis Tisdale.
With this new approach not only will it be as safe as possible, but it will be more efficient than ever. The college has scheduled these advising sessions on:
*Tuesday, July 21 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
*Wednesday, July 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
*Wednesday, July 29 from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.
*Thursday, July 30 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
To register, visit www.patrickhenry.edu/register or call (276) 656-5482.
These advising days are open to both new and current students. This fall, PHCC will offer a variety of classes online and in-person. Safety measures will be deployed across campus to ensure that in-person classes are offered in the safest manner possible.