FAQs on COVID-19

Yes.

We have developed an FAQ specific to Pass/Fail that we strongly urge you read through carefully before making your decision.

Please use the appropriate online form for self-reporting:

• Student & Staff Self-reporting Form
• Campus Visitors Self-reporting Form

Yes!  RVC will offer two primary modes of instruction for courses this fall: online and hybrid. The face-to-face portion of hybrid classes will include social distancing, and may result in reduced capacity to allow for six-foot social distancing requirements.

Please visit our Fall Semester FAQ for full details on the fall semester. 

Yes, but please contact your direct supervisor to affirm your work status for the fall semester. 

Rock Valley College, in accordance with a recent decision by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA), will postpone most of its athletic competition until the winter/spring of 2021. Men’s basketball, women’s basketball and volleyball will begin competing in January 2021, while men’s soccer and women’s soccer will begin competing in March 2021. There will be no changes to the bowling, baseball, or softball schedules other than to non-traditional seasons for those sports. Bowling will begin competition as scheduled this fall, while baseball and softball will compete in the spring of 2021.

Coaches will utilize the fall to continue to monitor the pandemic, while also implementing department guidelines and procedures for safety protocols. All RVC athletic teams will begin practices while shifting the focus for the fall to strength and conditioning, individual development, and team-only practices. Teams will not compete in any scrimmages against outside competition even though it is allowable under the NJCAA’s new Sport Procedures Guidelines.

The safety and well-being of student-athletes and staff remains the top priority, as the College begins this fall with a phased approach to returning to athletic competition.

All new students enrolling in credit classes are required to meet placement requirements prior to registering for credit courses and must submit a completed application to RVC.  

RVC promotes multiple methods of determining student placement.  If none of the methods provide sufficient placement, the College is deferring placement during the COVID-19 health crisis. 

More info on placement can be found at rockvalleycollege.edu/placement. 

Rock Valley College Community & Continuing Education will offer three primary modes of instruction for courses:

• Face-to-Face
• LIVE Online (ZOOM)
• Hybrid (ZOOM with Face-to-Face)
   

The face-to-face portion of classes require face masks, social distancing, and will result in reduced capacity to allow for six-foot social distancing requirements.

Along with a successful transition of our region of Illinois into Phase IV of Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s Restore Illinois plan, resuming on-campus instruction is predicated upon our ability to provide adequate COVID-19 testing for our entire community, of faculty, staff and students, coupled with a comprehensive plan that looks after the vulnerable, and aims at mitigating and containing any outbreaks.

View our Community and Continuing Education COVID Information page for more details.

Programming for Adult Education, Community & Continuing Education, CLR, Cold Forming Training, TechWorks, and Truck Driver Training has been modified due to COVID-19. 

Please contact each department for updates.

Adult Education:  rvc-adulteducation@rockvalleycollege.edu 

Community & Continuing Education: m.denbraven@rockvalleycollege.edu

CLR: a.denbraven@rockvalleycollege.edu

Cold Forming Training and TechWorks:  c.lewis2@rockvalleycollege.edu

Truck Driver Training: m.sandoval@rockvalleycollege.edu 

If you are not familiar with EAGLE, we have created a quick tutorial to help you learn how. 

As Rock Valley Colleges transitions to online learning and alternative instructional delivery, we understand that there are many of you who are concerned with this change. Please know that we are working very hard to provide you with training and information to help you through this time.

The link provided in this email will give you access to a specialized course in EAGLE to help you succeed in your courses . There are videos and resources to serve as guides through this transition. Please reach out to your instructor for help and, if they cannot provide you with assistance, they can direct you to someone who can. 

We are here for you.

https://rvceagle.instructure.com/courses/22382

All services are still operational and ready to assist students.

Here is a list of all contact information for the office you may need (we recommend sending an e-mail to the departments for a quicker reply):

Academic and Transfer Advising: RVC-ATA@rockvalleycollege.edu                                 

Records and Registration: RVC-Records@rockvalleycollege.edu

Disability Support Services: RVC-DisabilityServices@rockvalleycollege.edu                            

Financial Aid: RVC-FIA@rockvalleycollege.edu

Accounts Receivable/Payment Center: RVC-AR@rockvalleycollege.edu

Career Services and Career Advising: RVC-Careerservices@rockvalleycollege.edu               

TRIO: RVC-Trio@rockvalleycollege.edu

I need to set up an appointment with someone, how can I do that?

We are currently using Zoom and an online chat service to help students.  Contact the appropriate office listed above to set up an appointment and we will reach out to you after to let you know the next steps to connect virtually.

I don’t know who to contact or can I contact someone from student services instantly?

Click on the “Support Online” icon on the RVC website (bottom right of your screen):

We are currently staffing the online support from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. to assist student general questions or help get you connected to the correct college personnel. 

What if I need help after 6:00 p.m. or the office I need is not listed above?

Click on the icon you see after hours:

Leave us a message and well will forward it to the correct department. 

How can I turn in my financial aid paper work?

You can e-mail the forms to RVC-FIA@rockvalleycollege.edu or use the drop box that is located outside of the Student Center.

How can I withdraw from a class?

Normally you would have to come into the records office, but at this time you can receive help by sending an e-mail from your student e-mail address to RVC-Records@rockvalleycollege.edu for help with this process?

If you’re having any issues at all please reach out to the Dean of Students:

Terrica Huntley
Phone: 815-921-4284
E-mail: T.Huntley@rockvalleycollege.edu

Yes!
 

Tutors & Writing Coaches
 

Meet online with an RVC tutor, RVC Writing Center coach who specializes in your subject/course. For an RVC tutor or RVC Writing Center coach, go to the Tutoring Center or Writing Center page and click on the link “Meet Online with an RVC Tutor” or “Meet Online with an RVC Writing Coach.” You will need to create a TMS account and verify that you are an RVC student with your RVC email. The RVC Writing Coaches have a Badge next to their name indicating that they are an RVC Writing Coach.

Upload a Written Assignment for an RVC Writing Center coach or an Upswing writing tutor to review for you, by clicking on “Submit a Paper, Assignment or Essay for Review.” Keep in mind, on average, that your paper will be returned to you with feedback within 48 hours, usually much sooner. You will need to login to Upswing using your RVC ID number and password.

If there is no RVC tutor or Writing Center coach available, click on “When No RVC Tutor is Available, Click Here!” or “When No RVC Writing Center Coach is Available, Click Here.” You will need to login to Upswing using your RVC ID number and password.

Visit the online Writing Lab to learn step-by-step how to tackle and master the writing process. The link to this can be found under “Resources” or “Study Resources and Guides.”

Format citations in MLA and APA for your Works Cited or Reference List page with a super-fast, online citation engine. The link to this can also be found under “Resources” or “Study Resources and Guides.”

• Access Upswing
• Use your RVC ID number and password
   

Upswing How to Videos:
 

• For Tutoring
• For Submitting Written Assignments for Review

Help using TMS or Upswing:
 

• Contact RVC: c.griesbach@rockalleycollege.edu or rvc-tutoring@rockvalleycollege.edu 
• Contact TMS: help@tutormatchingservice.com or (877) 919-8886
• Contact GoBoard: help@goboard.com
• Contact Upswing: speak@upswing.io
   

Librarians & Research Help
 

• Don't exactly know what you need for your assignment or where to find it? A librarian can help! 
• Librarians are available online by CHAT through the library web page, Monday - Friday, 10am - 12pm and 3pm - 5pm.
• To chat, look for the green "Chat now" button. You may also email RVC-LibRef@rockvalleycollege.edu, or call (815) 921-4619 to leave a message for a librarian to return your call.
• Databases, Ebooks, and LibGuides are all available at a distance. You may be asked to sign in with your RVC ID number and password. 
• List of databases
• LibGuides
• Guides contain resources compiled by librarians to help you find information. Within a LibGuide you may find a list of databases, tutorials, Ebooks, and research tips pertinent to the subject or topic it covers. 
• For more information on library support for online learning, please visit our Library Distance Learning Service page. 
• If you have additional questions about physical materials, current checkouts, Interlibrary Loans, or other general library questions, please email S.Nissen@rockvalleycollege.eduor call (815) 921-4615 to leave a message. 

Yes. Personal and Success Counseling will continue to provide mental health and academic support during this time.

Andrea McCauley, RVC's Personal & Success Counselor, can be reached via email at a.mccauley@rockvalleycollege.edu, by phone (815) 921-4105 (messages will be checked regularly throughout the day), and by messaging through Eagle/Canvas App (select Course: RVC Community Group and send to: Andrea McCauley.)

For life threatening/severe emergencies, please call 911, or go to the nearest emergency department.

While the Bookstore is not open for face-to-face transactions, the store will continue serving customers through the Boiokstore website, phone (815-921-1680), and email.  The Bookstore is currently offering free UPS ground shipping for online orders.  Also, Barnes & Noble College has partnered with VitalSource to provide ebooks made available through some of the publishers free of charge. This does not include courseware or books from all publishers. 

• VitalSource Help and Tutorials

How do I access VitalSource Helps content?

To get started, visit bookshelf.vitalsource.com. Before you begin searching for and reading course materials, you will need to log in to an existing Bookshelf account with your institution-provided email address or create a new account. It is important to note that, while you may use Bookshelf today as part of an Inclusive Access program, your account may not be linked to your institution provided email address. To access VitalSource Helps content, you must use your institution-provided email address.
 

For students and instructors accessing Bookshelf for the first time:

Here are instructions on creating a Bookshelf account. Once you create an account with an institution-provided email address, log in and click on the “Explore” tab in the upper left corner of the screen.
 

For students and instructors with existing Bookshelf accounts linked to their institution-provided email address:

Students and instructors with existing Bookshelf accounts linked to their institution-provided email address will see a new tab called “Explore.” This tab provides access to the freely-available ebooks.

From Comcast's web resources:

Comcast is taking steps to implement the following new policies for the next 60 days, and other important initiatives:

• Xfinity WiFi Free For Everyone: Xfinity WiFi hotspots across the country will be available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi. Once at a hotspot, consumers should select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots and then launch a browser.
   
• Pausing Our Data Plan: With so many people working and educating from home, we want our customers to access the internet without thinking about data plans. While the vast majority of our customers do not come close to using 1TB of data in a month, we are pausing our data plans for 60 days giving all customers Unlimited data for no additional charge.
   
• No Disconnects or Late Fees: We will not disconnect a customer’s internet service or assess late fees if they contact us and let us know that they can’t pay their bills during this period. Our care teams will be available to offer flexible payment options and can help find other solutions.
   
• Internet Essentials Free to New Customers: As announced yesterday, it’s even easier for low-income families who live in a Comcast service area to sign-up for Internet Essentials, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program. New customers will receive 60 days of complimentary Internet Essentials service, which is normally available to all qualified low-income households for $9.95/month. Additionally, for all new and existing Internet Essentials customers, the speed of the program’s Internet service was increased to 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream. That increase will go into effect for no additional fee and it will become the new base speed for the program going forward.
   
• News, Information and Educational Content on X1: For those with school-age students at home, we’ve created new educational collections for all grade levels in partnership with Common Sense Media. Just say “education” into your X1 or Flex voice remote. To help keep customers informed, we also have created a collection of the most current news and information on Coronavirus. Just say “Coronavirus” into your X1 or Flex voice remote.
   
• 24x7 Network Monitoring: Underpinning all of these efforts, Comcast’s technology and engineering teams will continue to work tirelessly to support our network operations. We engineer our network capacity to handle spikes and shifts in usage patterns, and continuously test, monitor and enhance our systems and network to ensure they are ready to support customer usage. Our engineers and technicians staff our network operations centers 24/7 to ensure network performance and reliability. We are monitoring network usage and watching the load on the network both nationally and locally, and to date it is performing well.
   

Xfinity Resources

• Comprehensive overview of everything we are doing for our Xfinity customers
• Visit our online help center to easily find help and support articles.
• Chat with Xfinity to get 24/7 assistance for any questions you have.

From Charter's website:

In an effort to ensure Americans have necessary access to online resources, qualifying households with students can get 60 days of FREE access with a Spectrum Internet account.

• Available for households with K-12 or college students
• Limited to new accounts who do not already have a Spectrum Internet subscription
• Installation fees will be waived

In addition, Spectrum WiFi hotspots will be open for public use.

Call  1-844-579-3743  to enroll.

Please use the appropriate online form for self-reporting:

• Student & Staff Self-reporting Form
• Campus Visitors Self-reporting Form

Yes. Provided that they are eligible to work, and supervisors have completed a Return to Work Authorization Form for each student worker in their department and submitted it to Milana Herman.

Yes. Any campus essential personnel working on campus, or any non-essential personnel coming to campus for mail pick-up or other reasons pre-approved by the RVC Police Department, must wear protective face coverings if unable to maintain the six-foot social distancing protocols.

Yes. All employees will continue to be paid according to their association’s Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) or as normal for non-CBA personnel.

Your check will be mailed via the US Postal Service to the address on file with the College. All attempts will be made to have your check delivered to you by the pay date.

No. All benefits remain intact for all employees.

All departments are developing department-specific work-from-home plans for employees in each department who have been identified as non-essential. Employees are expected to work on assigned tasks from their direct supervisor and are required to check email and voicemail messages every hour during normal business hours (8am-5pm, M-F) to meet the needs of our students and community.

Arrangements are being made with all supervisors to accommodate the hardware, software and technology needs for all non-essential employees who will be working remotely. Please work directly with your supervisor on your specific needs.

• How to access email from anywhere: the web address to get email is https://webmail.rockvalleycollege.edu. Enter just your E# and normal password when prompted and you should have access.
  • An alternative method is to go to https://rockvalleycollege.edu and select MyRVC
  • On the right hand side you will see Additional Resources for Employees – click the + sign to expand
  • Select Employee Email
     
• You also have access to all of the Office suite of applications through the same site. To get to them, click on the grid in the upper left next to Outlook. These are the latest versions of the Office applications.
   
• Voicemails: Currently you should be getting your voicemails sent to you via email; this is an easy way to monitor your voicemail instead of calling in and checking. If you are not and would like to, you can sign into the phone system at https://phonehome.rvc.local/ucp/. Use your E# and normal password to sign in.
  • Once signed in, select Voicemail
  • In the next column, select Settings
  • Under Voicemail Settings, make sure Email Attachment is ON.
  • If it is OFF, click on the slider and it will change to ON and save your settings automatically.
     
• Quarry access: the Quarry is available from anywhere by going to https://quarry.rockvalleycollege.edu. Or you can use the second method above for email and select Quarry

• VPN access: We have a limited number of VPN connections available for employee use. By setting this up on your RVC laptop or your personal home computer, you can connect to RVC’s network and have access to all of the resources just as if you were on campus. If you need VPN access, please contact your supervisor so they can put in a Helpdesk ticket to request it. If you need access to more than just Colleague and ImageNow, please have your supervisor note what is needed in the Helpdesk request.
   
• Virtual desktops and applications: These are programs that you can run on Chromebooks, laptops, and desktop computers from the cloud just as if you are running them locally. We have set up Colleague access for all employees to use and we are working on setting up ImageNow if needed. Instructions on use will be forthcoming soon.
   
• Wifi Hotspots: Hotspots are small devices that use cellular signals to get wifi-enabled devices on to the Internet. IF you do not have Internet access at home and must be able to access either the virtual apps or VPN, we will have a limited supply of them available for those who are critical for continued operations. Also, you must be able to get a signal from Sprint at your location since they will be our supplier.
   
• File Access: If you use any of the above methods to work from home, you will NOT have access to any files stored on your work computer. If you need access to them, they should all be copied to either your R: drive or to your department’s common folder. As a reminder, all files should be stored on the R: drive or department folder, never on your local computer!
   
• If you do have Internet connectivity at home and need all of the apps on your work desktop computer, RVC will have a policy where you can check out your work computer and take it and set it up. Since the computers are not wifi enabled, you will need to use an network cord to connect it to your Internet router to get access. We have 7 and 25 foot cables for loaning out to accomplish this. IT will not be able to make a home visit to get it set up for you so please make sure you can before requesting to take your computer home.

Once again, if you have issues with anything IT can help you with, for immediate service call 815-921-4800. This is being monitored by someone in IT and by an answering service, who will has a call list to find an IT person to help. Due to the anticipated volume of calls, please give us 24 hours to resolve (if possible) your issue. For non-immediate help, please go to http://support.rockvalleycollege.edu and fill out a help desk ticket. All IT help desk people will be monitoring their email and will see all new tickets.

Yes. The IT Help Desk will continue to assist both essential and non-essential employees. You can contact IT Help at helpme@rockvalleycollege.edu or at 815-921-4800.

You have two options for this. Voicemail messages should appear in your RVC College-issued email and you can play them directly from there. You can also call your direct line at the College. When your outgoing message begins playing, press * and enter your 4-digit phone password. You will then have access to your phone menu.

Before you dial the number, dial *67 and it will block Caller ID.

All Time Card employees will need to report their hours to their supervisor for approval, and their supervisor will forward approved hours to Amanda Berkman in Payroll.

If you are a full-time exempt employee, no action is required, unless you have utilized any accrued time off such as vacation or personal days.  Exempt employees who utilize accrued time off should submit their hours to their supervisor, and their supervisor will forward approved time off to Amanda Berkman in Payroll.

If you have any questions regarding Payroll, please contact Amanda Berkman or Ellen Olson.

What happens if I want to take time off from work?

Inform your supervisor that you intend to use leave time and will not be accessible while working from home. Your supervisor will notify Amanda Berkman in Payroll of the approved leave time.

I am on intermittent Family Medical Leave and scheduled to be off one day per week for appointments. Now that the College is temporarily on a work-from-home schedule, do I still need to record the days that I take off for IFML as FML?

Yes, if you are absent from work due to FML you should record that time as FML. Please email Tracy Luethje in HR and copy Amanda Berkman in Payroll.

I need to submit a Pay Processing Form (PPF). How do I submit those during the temporary work-from-home period?

All PPF's must have required “digital” signatures from originator/Department Head/VP or Executive Director/Executive Leadership Member, then send to Judy Hamilton in HR for approval. An email approval chain from originator to Department Head to VP or Executive Director to Executive Leadership Member is acceptable. Each approver should include their employee ID # to indicate approval of the PPF. 

All part-time and continuous part-time employees will be paid based on their normal scheduled hours. We need employees to document on their time cards the ACTUAL hours worked, but supervisors (during the approval process) should indicate their employees’ normal scheduled hours so they can be paid the difference. 

Your pay will not be interrupted.

From Comcast's website:

Comcast is taking steps to implement the following new policies for the next 60 days, and other important initiatives:

• Xfinity WiFi Free For Everyone: Xfinity WiFi hotspots across the country will be available to anyone who needs them for free – including non-Xfinity Internet subscribers. For a map of Xfinity WiFi hotspots, visit www.xfinity.com/wifi. Once at a hotspot, consumers should select the “xfinitywifi” network name in the list of available hotspots and then launch a browser.
   
• Pausing Our Data Plan: With so many people working and educating from home, we want our customers to access the internet without thinking about data plans. While the vast majority of our customers do not come close to using 1TB of data in a month, we are pausing our data plans for 60 days giving all customers Unlimited data for no additional charge.
   
• No Disconnects or Late Fees: We will not disconnect a customer’s internet service or assess late fees if they contact us and let us know that they can’t pay their bills during this period. Our care teams will be available to offer flexible payment options and can help find other solutions.
   
• Internet Essentials Free to New Customers: As announced yesterday, it’s even easier for low-income families who live in a Comcast service area to sign-up for Internet Essentials, the nation’s largest and most comprehensive broadband adoption program. New customers will receive 60 days of complimentary Internet Essentials service, which is normally available to all qualified low-income households for $9.95/month. Additionally, for all new and existing Internet Essentials customers, the speed of the program’s Internet service was increased to 25 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps upstream. That increase will go into effect for no additional fee and it will become the new base speed for the program going forward.
   
• News, Information and Educational Content on X1: For those with school-age students at home, we’ve created new educational collections for all grade levels in partnership with Common Sense Media. Just say “education” into your X1 or Flex voice remote. To help keep customers informed, we also have created a collection of the most current news and information on Coronavirus. Just say “Coronavirus” into your X1 or Flex voice remote.
   
• 24x7 Network Monitoring: Underpinning all of these efforts, Comcast’s technology and engineering teams will continue to work tirelessly to support our network operations. We engineer our network capacity to handle spikes and shifts in usage patterns, and continuously test, monitor and enhance our systems and network to ensure they are ready to support customer usage. Our engineers and technicians staff our network operations centers 24/7 to ensure network performance and reliability. We are monitoring network usage and watching the load on the network both nationally and locally, and to date it is performing well.
   

Xfinity Resources

• Comprehensive overview of everything we are doing for our Xfinity customers
• Visit our online help center to easily find help and support articles.
• Chat with Xfinity to get 24/7 assistance for any questions you have.

From Charter's website:

In an effort to ensure Americans have necessary access to online resources, qualifying households with students can get 60 days of FREE access with a Spectrum Internet account.

• Available for households with K-12 or college students
• Limited to new accounts who do not already have a Spectrum Internet subscription
• Installation fees will be waived

In addition, Spectrum WiFi hotspots will be open for public use.

Call  1-844-579-3743  to enroll.

The Mail & Distribution Center (MDC) will be resuming normal operations effective July 13, 2020.