Toward Together

Spring 2022 Guidelines

Our first priority throughout the pandemic has been and continues to be the health and safety of our campus community. We have put protocols and measures in place to ensure everyone’s safety. We will continue to evaluate these policies regularly.

The COVID vaccine is one of the most proactive measures that can be taken to fight against the pandemic. The vaccine is available at the Lamoni Hy-Vee Pharmacy via appointment at https://www.hy-vee.com/my-pharmacy/vaccine-consent or by phone at 641.784.6322.

If you are feeling ill or have had contact with someone who has recently tested positive for COVID-19, be sure to take the ClearPass health screening from HealthBox HR BEFORE you reach out to the Lamoni COVID coordinator Erin Lundy at 641.784.5037 or elundy@graceland.edu.

For those who are wanting to test because they potentially were exposed, but are not yet symptomatic, the government is offering four home test kits to every household in America, including students. Those can be requested at https://usps.com/covidtests.

Thank you for your continued vigilance and commitment to keeping each other safe.

• Health and Safety

  Testing and health care access

  Infinity Health (formerly Community Health Center of Southern Iowa) and the Hy-Vee Pharmacy in Lamoni are certified testing locations, and the Decatur County Hospital in Leon is the central hub for Decatur County for the treatment of COVID-19 patients. These nearby resources provide students, faculty and staff with excellent and convenient resources should symptoms develop

  Infinity Health (by appointment only)
  802 E Ackerly St, Lamoni, IA 50140
  Call 641.784.7911

  Hy-Vee Pharmacy (by appointment only)
  101 E Main St, Lamoni, IA 50140
  Call 641.784.7911

  Decatur County Hospital
  1405 NW Church, Leon, Iowa 50144
  Call 641.446.4871

  Face coverings required in educational spaces

  Cloth masks will be worn at all times in educational spaces. Cloth masks are not surgical but can provide protection to other people in case the wearer is asymptomatically infected.

  Social Distancing

  Social distancing in class

  Keeping space from each other is an important part of keeping our community safe. Six feet of space will be maintained when possible in classrooms, labs, restrooms and common areas. There should be no sharing of objects in classrooms for group or partner work. Students should sit in the same seats in classrooms on every occasion and the instructor will create and maintain a seating chart. Cleaning supplies will be available in all classrooms, and Graceland’s Facility Services team will ensure common work areas will be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected per CDC recommendations.

  Social distancing on campus

  Outside the classroom, social distancing should still be maintained. Water fountains on campus will be disabled, however, motion-activated bottle-fillers will remain available as long as safety can be maintained. All meetings, including house meetings, should be held virtually if maintaining six feet of social distance is not possible. Elevators should not be used, but if they must, only one person should be in an elevator at a time. Hand sanitizer stations will be placed at elevator doors and should be used before and after use of the elevator.

  Social distancing in offices

  As we continue the work to maintain low COVID-19 numbers on both campuses, please use quick phone calls, text messages, emails or notes through Microsoft Teams rather than dropping in to offices unexpectedly. If an in-person conversation is required, make an appointment. This courtesy is helpful in two ways:

  1. 1. Social distance is one of the primary ways we can fight the spread of COVID-19.
     2. With an increase in the number of virtual meetings in our offices, an unexpected visitor may disrupt those meetings.

  Protocols for illness

  Should a student, faculty or staff member experience any COVID-19 symptoms, they will be asked to stay home or in their room. They should not attend any classes, clinical/practicums, student teaching, internships, sports activities, or go to work. Once they have quarantined themselves, they should contact the Student Life office or their residence hall director to coordinate with them and the COVID-19 Coordinator on how best to proceed. Areas of campus have been set up for isolating students who are ill or who have been exposed. Students should not return to campus activities until they have been cleared by the COVID-19 Coordinator.

  Graceland has developed an extensive quarantine and isolation protocol for residential students on the Lamoni campus, which will be strictly followed should illness occur.

• Campus Visitors

  Graceland will continue to welcome visitors to campus in a way that respects the health and safety of students, employees and the visitors. All visitors will be expected to comply with all of Graceland’s COVID-19 guidelines.

• Academics

  Our goal is to create safe classroom environments that emphasize quality academic experiences and continue to allow for an in-person campus community. All safety protocols remain in placE.

  Safety protocols include:

  1. Wear a mask at all times
  2. Maintain Social distancing of at least 6 feet
  3. Sit in the same seat for the entire semester
  4. Extra classroom cleaning

  Zoom Expectations

  Zoom is only used as an accommodation for students who are required to quarantine or isolate because of COVID. Note that attending remotely still requires students to log onto Zoom during the regular class time.

  When attending class remotely, students are expected to turn on cameras, minimize distractions, and dress appropriately. Students too ill to be out of bed to attend class will be excused.