January 21, 2021

Dear North Central College Campus Community,

With spring semester set to begin next week for the majority of our campus community, we are writing to provide important details and reminders regarding the College’s COVID-19 protocols and guidelines.

Negative COVID-19 Test Requirement

Prior to returning to campus, all students must provide proof of a negative COVID-19 test result. More information about this requirement, including how to submit proof of a negative test result, is available here.

Surveillance Testing

Starting next week, the College will resume its COVID-19 surveillance testing program. When campus community members are selected for surveillance testing, they will be notified via their North Central email account. Once selected, individuals will be provided with additional details about the testing process and will be able to schedule a testing appointment through their MySHIELDIllinois account. If you’ve yet to receive a notification to set up your MySHIELDIllinois account or have questions regarding this process, please email covidtesting@noctrl.edu.

The College’s COVID-19 testing site (see pictures below) is located on the lower level of the new Health Sciences & Engineering Building (160 E. Chicago Ave.). As a reminder, testing is only available to members of the North Central campus community who have received notification from the College and have scheduled their testing appointment in advance.

Updated Quarantine Protocol

The College has updated its quarantine protocol for individuals who have been identified as close contacts based on recent changes in guidance from the CDC, Illinois Department of Public Health, and the DuPage County Health Department. As a reminder, quarantine is a safety measure used for healthy individuals who may have been exposed to COVID-19. Updates include the following:

·         Commuter students, and faculty and staff, may end quarantine after 10 days without testing and if no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring.

·         Resident students and student-athletes may end quarantine after 10 days if no symptoms have been reported during daily monitoring AND a negative test result has been received by the contact tracer/case manager.

·         Once students are released from quarantine there will be no restrictions (beyond existing health and safety guidelines) on their activities. Resident students can return to their assigned rooms.

·         The Athletics Department may decide to prohibit student-athletes from practice/competition until the full 14-day quarantine period has been met.

More information about the College’s positive case protocol is available here.

COVID-19 Compliance

As was previously communicated by Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students Kevin McCarthy, the College has updated its COVID-19 compliance and enforcement procedures for students who choose not to uphold the #TogetherNC Pledge or violate other COVID-19 health and safety guidelines established by the College.

In addition, all members of the campus community are encouraged to use the COVID-19 Compliance Reporting Form to immediately notify the College of any individuals, organizations or offices not adhering to these expectations.

Positive Test Reporting

As part of our commitment to keep the campus community informed, the College will continue to publicly report known positive COVID-19 test results among members of the campus community. Updates have been made to our reporting process in an effort to more clearly reflect the number of positive cases among the College’s on-campus population—defined as students attending in-person classes, students living in campus housing, and faculty and staff working on campus—and due to increased community testing through the College’s new SHIELD Illinois testing program.

Thank you for doing your part to ensure the health and safety of our campus community. If you have questions, we continue to regularly update important COVID-19-related information and FAQs at covid.northcentralcollege.edu.

Photos of the testing site at the Health Sciences & Engineering Building