Published on January 6, 2022
When John A. Logan College officials received word of masks and testing requirements for college campuses, they immediately began developing plans to ensure they remained open and served students face-to-face. With classes resuming on January 10, officials continue to make adjustments to comply and be ready to serve students.
“We pivot, and that is the best way I can describe it,” said President Kirk Overstreet. “We have both a COVID Taskforce and a COVID Incident Team made up of administrators, faculty, and even student representation. We meet regularly and have tried to develop procedures and adjust those procedures as not to disrupt our operations while keeping our students and staff safe.”
According to Overstreet, the collaborative planning and overall cooperation of the John A. Logan College community have resulted in John A. Logan College being a statewide leader in meeting the Governor’s vaccine and testing requirements.
“I am very proud of not only our faculty and staff but also our students in doing their part to follow the requirements. “We implemented plans and made adjustments to those plans to both test and have passes for those that are vaccinated. It has all gone smoothly because everyone has cooperated.”
During the fall semester, vaccinated students and staff had a photo ID, and those that tested were given a weekly pass to enter campus. Shortly after the spring semester begins, the College will start using CLEARED4 as the pass to enter campus.
According to the company’s website, CLEARED4 is the most trusted health validation platform for COVID-19 and infectious disease safety available today. Helping organizations future-proof their operations.
“All of our students and staff have received emails to their college email accounts with a link to register,” said Overstreet. “It takes only a few minutes to register, and each person will get a QR code to scan at our entry points to the campus. Those who test weekly on campus with SHIELD Illinois will have their results automatically uploaded to the platform.”
Overstreet added that the College would begin using CLEARED4 exclusively on January 18.
“By January 7, all of our faculty and staff will be signed into CLEARED4, and we will assist students with getting registered during the first week of classes.”
In addition to using CLEARED4, weekly testing at the College will continue on Mondays and Tuesdays from 7:00 AM to 5:30 PM. The testing location has moved inside to room F110 in the Conference Center to accommodate winter weather.
Spring Semester Classes begin on January 10, and late walk-in registration runs from January 7 to the 13. The College will hold a special Saturday sign-up event from 9 AM to Noon on January 8. If you have questions regarding CLEARED4, email covid19@jalc.edu.