Motlow State announces return to normal activities on all campuses

June 2, 2021

Motlow State Community College announces its return to normal student and staff activities on all of its campuses effective immediately. The College’s recent move to Pandemic Response Level 1 allows it to open its campuses completely to students, staff, and visitors. 

The Pandemic Response Level 1 allows all campuses and grounds to be fully open, operational, and staffed. Students, employees, and visitors may come onto campus without having an appointment and are no longer required to complete a daily health assessment before coming on campus. Additionally, mask-wearing and social distancing are no longer required but optional. 

“All student support services, including libraries, computer labs, testing, counseling, and tutoring are now fully open with walk-in service available,” according to Dr. Greg Sedrick, Special Assistant to the President and Executive Vice President for Student Success and Academic Affairs. “Appointments are available as well. All student support services will continue to be available to students enrolled in online classes.” 

As the College returns to normalized operations under its Pandemic Response Level 1 status, fall classes will be mainly on-campus in traditional classroom settings. The move will not affect students already enrolled in classes but allows for more on-campus courses to be added to the Fall semester class schedule. 

A robust selection of online courses for students who prefer virtual learning to traditional in-seat, on-ground classes is also available. Fall 2021 classes begin Aug. 23. 
Summer classes began for the full term and 1st short-session term on June 1. Summer 2nd short-session classes start July 6, and registration continues. Summer courses continue to meet as planned, with most classes meeting virtually. 

“Motlow has been very intentional in assessing, defining, and implementing health, safety, and wellness protocols,” according to Pat Hendrix, co-chair of the Motlow Pandemic Emergency Management Team. “Decisions to move from one Pandemic Response Level to another are holistically based upon comparative data points that are fluid and subject to change. Motlow has made the current decision cautiously based on indicators that suggest the local health environment is stabilizing.” 

Dr. Michael Torrence, Motlow President, said, “The majority of indicators assert that normalizing services, operations, and instructional delivery is in the best interest of the majority of stakeholders. Motlow will continue to monitor local health department data and regional data to make the best decisions for its students, faculty, and staff. If indicators were to change and the needs of students and staff shift, the College will remain prepared to pivot as appropriate.” 

Motlow’s Pandemic Response continues to be informed by the TN Department of Health, Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and the College’s Pandemic Emergency Management Team (PEMT) recommendation. To ascertain guidelines from the CDC and TNDOH, visit the links below. 

View CDC guidelines here: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-nCoV/index.html.

View Tennessee Department of Health guidelines here: https://www.tn.gov/health/cedep/ncov.html.

For more information about admissions, financial aid, new student orientation, and class registration, visit Motlow’s website at Motlow.com or call 1-800-654-4877.

Tennessee’s Community Colleges is a system of 13 colleges offering a high-quality, affordable, convenient, and personal education to prepare students to achieve their educational and career goals in two years or less. The system offers associate degree and certificate programs, workforce development programs, and transfer pathways to four-year degrees. For more information, please visit us online at tbr.edu or visit Motlow at Motlow.com.