All Rend Lake College announcements and updates regarding COVID-19 Coronavirus will be posted on this page. 

  

COVID-19 Resources

National:

Center for Disease Control

State:

Illinois Department of Public Health

County:

Jefferson County Health Department 

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April 7, 2020

Rend Lake College Coronavirus Response Update

Deadline to Drop Classes Extended

The drop date for spring has been extended to May 8. This will allow students additional time to adjust and to seek any assistance they need from their instructors or from RL-Cares () as the semester goes along.

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March 31, 2020

Rend Lake College Coronavirus Response Update

Summer Tuition Statements Delay

Due to social distancing guidelines, Rend Lake College staff is working remotely. As a result, the mailing of summer tuition statements will be delayed. Students can access their up-to-date summer statements by logging on to their self-service accounts at https://sserve.rlc.edu. 

For questions about your statements, contact Emily DeForest at .

Nursing application deadline extended

At this time PSB testing has been suspended due to our current mandate from our Governor. We are currently working on a plan to extend out our Nursing application in order for everyone to have time to apply.

Non-Tech-Related Questions go to RL-Cares

If you are a student who has a question or needs help with any issue that is not tech-related or that your instructors can't answer (scheduling, advisement, payments, counseling issues, mental health, or others); please send an email to . 

Virtual Advisement Coming

Tomorrow we will launch virtual advisement sessions. From our website, you can make an appointment to meet virtually with one of our advisors and register for summer and fall classes. Stay tuned.

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March 27, 2020

Update on upcoming events

Due to ongoing health concerns with COVID-19, Rend Lake College has canceled the following events. RLC is committed to the safety of students, faculty, staff and the public and is working to limit large gatherings during this time. For up-to-date information on the college’s plan moving forward, visit rlc.edu/coronavirus.  

Warrior Showcase

Student Art Show

3/31 Jon Garrett | Gateway Men's Chorus

4/2 Musical Performance

4/2 West Frankfort CTE Day

4/2 Transition Summit

4/3-5 "Little Women" Spring Musical

4/5 Musical Performance

4/8 Agriculture Banquet

4/8 Art Demonstration: Carrie Gibbs

4/8 Ag Banquet

4/15-16 Rend Lake Music Festival

4/16 West Frankfort CTE Day

4/16 Studio RLC Open House

4/16 Phi Theta Kappa Induction

4/17 Welding Contest

4/23 Children’s Health Fair

4/23 RLC Job Search Party

4/23 Lake Reception

4/24 Future Business Warriors

4/25 Hall of Fame Banquet

4/29 Wellness Resource Fair

4/29 Stop the Bleed Training

4/30 STARS Banquet

5/1 Flummoxed Performances

5/2 Spike Down Cancer Volleyball Tournament

5/6 State FFA Ag Business CDE

5/7 Spring Concert

5/8 Jefferson County Chamber Women's Conference

5/12 Faculty and Staff Awards

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March 20, 2020

Rend Lake College Coronavirus Response Update

Effective immediately, Rend Lake College is closed to all individuals with the exception of security and necessary physical plant inspection of equipment, both of which will be stationed at a bare minimum to accomplish only their fundamental objectives.

All employees should move to completely remote and online work.  All instruction will be delivered remotely the remainder of the semester. We will continue to work with faculty on creative ways to deliver educational outcomes for laboratory portions of the curriculum.

No one is allowed on campus without permission from an Associate Vice President or higher. All previous permissions must be re-established after evaluating their absolute necessity.

This action comes with the safety of all employees, students, and our community being the highest priority. 

Thank you for understanding.

Terry Wilkerson

President

Rend Lake College

Need technical assistance? Help Desk is here for you. 
Email . 

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March 19, 2020

Check Warriormail spam

Dear student, 

The transition to online classes is well underway. During this time, it is possible that some emails being sent to you are landing in your Warriormail spam folder. Please have a look in your spam folder for any messages from the college. If you find any, right click and tell it it's not spam. 

If you are auto-forwarding all incoming Warriormail to another account, the spam filtering is done before that takes place. So any messages that Gmail considers spam will end up in the forwarding account's spam folder. Go into the Warriomail account, tell it that it's not spam, and from that point on, new messages will be included in the auto-forward.

If you are a student who has a documented learning disability, and you encounter any learning issue related to your disability in the online format, please contact our disability services specialist, Susan Cunningham, at . Sue will assist you with any problems you may encounter.

We are all in a constantly changing situation. We are all learning and adapting as we go along. You can be confident in the fact that college leaders are working with the best information we have to make decisions moving forward. You will finish. We will all move forward together.  

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March 18, 2020 

Rend Lake College Coronavirus Response Update

For those students on a Nelnet payment plan, the next payment date has been extended from 4/5 to 4/20. We hope this will offer some relief and add flexibility for you during the coronavirus situation. The health of our communities continues to be a top priority at RLC.  

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March 17, 2020

• The current expectation is that we will continue with online instruction through the remainder of the semester. Students, please check with your instructors if you have questions.
• The Learning Resource Center will be closed for the remainder of March.
• Help Desk will have extended hours starting Monday of next week (7a-7p). We will monitor the volume of calls and adjust accordingly. Also remember the  address in the event you cannot reach the help desk at Ext. 1259.
• NJCAA has cancelled spring sports.
• If you are sick, stay home.
• Continue to watch our website and our student and employee emails for updates.

FACULTY & STAFF

There are functions such as entering and approving requisitions, processing transcripts, running payroll and the like which are essential functions. Sanitation, network upkeep and maintenance, and other duties also are essential during this time. From the instructional standpoint, some faculty may need the college’s internet / hardware capabilities to upload content to their online courses.

• If you need to work on campus, get approval from your respective Vice President or Associate Vice President. Those who can work remotely are encouraged to do so, although some areas such as Student Records, Financial Aid, Business Office, etc., may need staff physically present. This is being done in part to enhance social distancing and to minimize the number of people who need to be in the same area at the same time.
• Please keep the need to pay bills in mind, and determine when / how to enter your requisitions. If you are a fiscal manager or if you enter requisitions regularly and believe you need remote desktop access, please check with your respective Vice President. If you have questions / problems, contact the Business Office.
• Please ensure that your voicemail contains your work email so you can be reached as needed. Instructions for how to do this can be found at Intranet > IT Tech Tips > Cisco Unity Voice Mail Tips.

• Academic advisement appointments scheduled over the next two weeks will be done via phone or other distance delivery methods.
• Students with existing advisement appointments will be contacted with more information.
• All entrance testing, including Psychological Services Bureau, is pushed back until after April 1, at which time we will re-evaluate.
• Physical education classes are being evaluated, but rest assured students will not be penalized for circumstances beyond their control.

FUTURE CONSIDERATIONS

While we would love to provide some certainty as far as what is going to happen in the coming weeks, no one has that crystal ball. What we can guarantee is that we will be thinking and doing all we can to keep all of our stakeholders safe. We will continue to do whatever we can to support our students and our employees through this time, and will keep you updated as often as we can.

We appreciate the continued hard work and dedication of everyone involved … students, faculty, staff and the community.

Terry Wilkerson

President

Rend Lake College

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March 16, 2020

Rend Lake College Coronavirus Response Update

Online format will begin March 23, 2020

College leaders were busy this morning preparing for Monday, March 23, when all classes go to online instruction. 

To get ready for online classes, all students need to:

1. Log in to your Canvas account. Go to the MyRLC web page and log in using your Warriormail address and password. Need help? Call the Help Desk at 618.437.5321, Ext. 1259 or email .
2. Log in to Warriormail. Go to www.gmail.com and log in using your Warriormail address and password. This will be a primary way we communicate with students. Once you are logged in, if you prefer, you can have emails to that account auto-forwarded to another account. Here are instructions to forward your Warriormail to another account of your choice.   

Academic Advisement and Testing Appointments
Rend Lake College will honor existing appointments for Academic Advisement and Testing. The college is not scheduling any new appointments at this time.

Spring 2020 Refund Disbursement
Rend Lake College Spring 2020 refunds will disburse March 18^th as scheduled. Students who are expecting a refund are reminded to have their BankMobile accounts set up. For more information about getting your refund this spring, visit www.rlc.edu/financial-aid/getting-a-refund.

Cancelled Events

• Warrior Showcase suspended until further notice
• All Great Rivers Athletic Conference events are canceled
• All NJCAA Spring Sports
• 3/17 Advisory Board Meetings
• 3/17-18 Lunch on the Lake
• 3/18 Nursing Informational Meeting
• 3/18-20 & 3/25-27 Studio RLC Esthetics Services at Waugh Gym
• 3/19 Student Art Show Reception & Awards
• 3/19 Land That Job
• 3/20 Active Shooter Training
• 3/22 Lions Club All-Star Practices
• 3/23 Blood Drive
• 3/23-27 All Diversity Week Events
• 3/25 Nursing Informational Meeting
• 3/25 Career Connections
• 3/27 Lions Club All-Star Games
• 3/31 Jon Garrett | Gateway Men's Chorus
• 4/2 West Frankfort CTE Day
• 4/2 Transition Summit
• 4/3-5 "Little Women" Spring Musical
• 4/8 Agriculture Banquet
• 4/8 Art Demonstration: Carrie Gibbs
• 4/16 Phi Theta Kappa Induction

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March 15, 2020

Rend Lake College Coronavirus Response Update

In keeping with developments in the state of Illinois as the coronavirus issue continues to evolve, Rend Lake College will be moving to essential personnel only on campus as of Tuesday, March 17, 2020. This is being done in an effort to promote social distancing and similar measures announced by the Illinois governor Sunday afternoon.

All regularly scheduled personnel should report to the college as planned Monday. This will allow faculty and support staff to work together to move as much instructional content online as possible. Online instruction will begin in earnest on Monday, March 23. Administrators also will use that day as a planning and triage day to determine any further needed actions.

Employees should consult with their respective Vice President or Associate Vice President to determine whether to work in person, remotely, etc., from that point.

Gov. Pritzker announced Sunday that all bars and restaurants will be closed to the public by the end of business Monday, March 16, and lasting at least until March 30, which is one of the reasons for this move. We expect that our regional community college partners will be taking similar actions. We are taking this situation on a fluid basis and will be regularly re-evaluating when we can return to a normal working schedule.

We want to thank all of you for your hard work, dedication and flexibility during this time, and we truly appreciate the way you have come together to deal with this situation. The RLC team is truly one-of-a-kind, and this is just another example that proves it. Keep your eyes on your email and the website for more updates as we go.

In the meantime, please continue to keep yourself safe and healthy. Take all the appropriate measures to keep yourself safe from infection, and if you are sick, stay home. As always, if you have questions, feel free to ask.

Thank you,

Terry Wilkerson

RLC President

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March 13, 2020

Rend Lake College Coronavirus Response Update

To the Rend Lake College community:

Due to the effects of the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, Rend Lake College is taking the following measures to help protect our students, faculty and staff, and to do our part to reduce risk of spreading the infection. All updates will be posted on our website at www.rlc.edu.

1. Spring Break will be extended an additional week, through Saturday, March 21. The faculty, staff and administration will use this period of time to move as much class content as possible to Canvas, RLC’s online learning platform.
2. We will move to online instruction via Canvas for all classes beginning Monday, March 23. This is for the time being, and we will continue to evaluate when we can return to face-to-face instruction. Some formats, such as labs and clinicals, may need to be handled on a case-by-case basis. IMPORTANT: Students, please ensure you have access to Canvas, which can be reached from the MyRLC web page using your Warriormail address and password. Call the Help Desk at 618.437.5321, Ext. 1259, if you need assistance with that.
3. On-campus college events will be cancelled during this time, unless otherwise noted. Communication will be ongoing with the appropriate audiences.
4. The campus itself, as well as the RLC MarketPlace in Mt. Vernon and the RLC Murphy-Wall Pinckneyville Campus, will remain open.
5. The RLC Foundation Children’s Center will remain open at this time.
6. Support staff and the IT Help Desk (618.437.5321, Ext. 1259, ) will be available to assist students.
7. Follow the Centers for Disease Control guidelines, which include avoiding crowded situations, remaining six feet away from others when possible, regular hand-washing with soap and water, use of hand sanitizer, avoiding touching your face with unwashed hands, etc.
8. Questions may be directed to the front desk at 618.437.5321 or to .

Additional notes for STUDENTS

• Warriormail will be an important method of communication. Please make sure you have access to your account. If you prefer, here are instructions to forward your Warriormail to another account of your choice.
• Financial aid refunds will be distributed as originally scheduled.
• All Great Rivers Athletic Conference events are cancelled.
• If you feel ill, do not come to campus.

Additional notes for FACULTY & STAFF

• Employees will need to coordinate their attendance (physical vs. remote) with the appropriate Vice President.
• If you have travel plans on college business in the near future, consult with the appropriate Vice President to determine if you should cancel those plans.
• A separate communication will be sent to faculty regarding work hours and duties from Lori Ragland, Vice President of Instruction & Student Affairs.
• If you feel ill, stay home.

We will continue to monitor the situation and will post updates on our website. We also will alert you of updates to that page via Warriormail, social media, Canvas and the Canvas app, and any other appropriate outlets.

We are taking these actions out of an abundance of caution, with the well-being of our students and employees in mind. We have been in contact with state and federal sources, as well as educational partners in our area.

The Centers for Disease Control has information about the coronavirus at https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/.

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March 11, 2020

Students,

We have been monitoring the situation with the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and we want to let you know how we are responding. There have been no reported instances of COVID-19 at Rend Lake College, and no classes are being cancelled at this time. However, we have amplified our cleaning and disinfecting efforts and have begun contingency planning in the event classes should have to be cancelled.

IF there were a closure that lasted only a few days, instructors and administrators would determine how best to make up the content without having to extend the length of the semester.

IF classes should have to be cancelled for an extended period due to the COVID-19 situation, it could become necessary to extend the semester beyond the originally scheduled end dates in order to allow you the time needed to complete coursework. It would be likely that the college would have select staff members on premises as needed to handle critical functions.

IF that should occur, we would transfer all our face-to-face classes to Canvas, which would allow you to remain in contact with your instructors. This would not be a fit for some laboratory classes and similar situations; those would be handled on a case-by-case basis. There is the option of holding virtual class meetings using the Zoom integration in Canvas as well.

We would get status updates to you in the various methods available, including our website, social media, Canvas and its app, etc. We suggest that you ensure you have access to your Warriormail email account, or are forwarding those emails to a personal account of your preference, because this is the fastest avenue for us to reach all students quickly. Additionally, if you have not signed up for WENS, our emergency alert texting system, you can do so at www.rlc.edu/wens. If you need assistance with either of those, call the Help Desk at 618.437.5321, Ext. 1259.

Again, no classes are being cancelled at the present time. We will continue monitoring the situation and will inform you of any significant developments. Even if a closure of some type should happen, be assured we remain committed to helping you succeed.

In the meantime, continue to use common sense measures to help protect yourself such as regular hand washing, using hand sanitizer, keeping your hands away from your face, etc. 

Enjoy the rest of your spring break and we’ll see you next week!

— The Rend Lake College Team

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More about Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) — including risk, symptoms and prevention — can be found at www.cdc.gov. 

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