Previous Messages from the College

Lanier Technical College Announces Plan for Spring Semester 2021

Updated January 14, 2021

Lanier Technical College Students,

Lanier Technical College will begin normal class operations on January 19, 2021. Check for updates from your instructor or contact them with any class scheduling questions you may have. The success of our opening, and remaining open, will be predicated on our vigilance in adhering to the protocols of daily health screenings, wearing a mask, maintaining social distancing, not coming on-campus if you or someone in your household is sick. Along with student success, the health and safety of our students and employees is our top priority. Below are the major points to the College operation plan for January 19, 2021 and forward.

• Remain vigilant with the health and safety protocols. Our success is dependent on our vigilance.
• Beginning January 19, 2021, all spring semester 2021 academic classes will transition to their Banner schedule as related to mode of delivery, class time, class location, and approved lab plans.
• Please contact your instructor with any class scheduling questions you may have.
• Allied Health Clinical activities will continue or begin as scheduled provided the clinical site is available.
• Externships/Internships may continue or begin as needed and available.
• Bookstores will be open using social distancing guidelines. Online ordering and shipping will continue to be available.

The College Leadership will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation and we will provide additional updates as needed.

I hope everyone has an enjoyable Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday. Please remain safe and healthy.

Thanks,

Tim McDonald
Interim President

Lanier Technical College Announces Plan for the first week of Spring Semester 2021

Updated January 7, 2021

Gainesville, GA – Today Lanier Technical College officially announced its plans for conducting classes when the 2021 Spring Semester begins on January 11, 2021. Classes will begin virtually with the exception of external clinical labs, which will start as scheduled. When activities resume onsite, Lanier Tech will continue with standard health and safety protocols including limited class size. The College expects on-campus activities to resume on January 19, 2021, however conditions will be monitored and a decision will be made January 14, 2021. Teleworking for college employees will continue through January 15, 2021, unless otherwise instructed by state officials.

With this announcement, precautions for students and faculty will continue to include daily health screens to take temperature readings, the wearing of face masks for anyone who enters campus buildings, and social distancing at least 6 feet. Classroom and laboratory spaces will remain retrofitted to meet social distancing guidelines in addition to routine cleaning by the support staff of the college.

Additional details regarding the semester will be provided as they become available.

Updated August 10, 2020

Dear Lanier Technical College Students,

On behalf of our entire faculty and staff, it is a pleasure for me to welcome you to Fall Semester 2020. As a reminder, Fall Semester begins on Monday, August 17. We are thrilled that you have made the decision to continue your education at Lanier Technical College in spite of the COVID-19 Pandemic. Please know that your safety, as well as the safety of our employees, is of paramount importance to us. I want to share with you many of the steps we are taking to provide a safe learning and working environment at Lanier Tech.

• Campus Accessibility– Our campuses will remain closed to the general public. Campuses will continue to be open only to employees, students (credit and non-credit), applicants/potential students (and one accompanying adult if the applicant/potential student is a minor), service providers (such as delivery personnel, landscapers, vendors, and other contracted providers) and Conference Center clients until further notice.
• Class Schedule– Although most of our lab-based courses will be offered onsite for Fall Semester, most of our lecture-based courses will be either offered 100% on line or through an online-onsite hybrid instructional delivery model. You will be getting a welcome email from your instructors this week giving you specific details regarding your courses.
• Campus Modifications– You will see a number of modifications when you come inside campus buildings. Plexiglas screens have been installed at areas where students and staff conduct transactions such as at the Cashier Station, reception counters, and bookstore points of sale. We have marked the floors with “six foot” indicators in many areas across campus. We have placed hand sanitizing stations across campus. You will also see a number of reminders to practice our health and safety standards on signage and video monitors. We regularly sanitize instructional areas and high touch objects such as door handles and restroom fixtures.
• Health and Safety– From the moment you arrive on campus you will see a number of health and safety practices we are implementing for the Fall:
  • Temperature screenings- Every student, employee, and campus visitor will have their temperature checked as you enter a campus building for the first time on any instructional day. Those who have a body temperature of 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit or higher will have to immediately leave the campus.
  • Masks- Every student, employee, and campus visitor will have to wear a mask anytime they are inside a building unless they are alone in an office or other room. Although you are free to provide your own mask, the college will provide two masks for each student. Wearing a mask indoors is not optional. You will also be required to wear a mask when you are walking outside with others. (You will not be required to wear a mask when you are alone outside of a building. However, you should be prepared to put your mask on when others approach you.)
    • A student with a documented medical condition that makes it unsafe to wear a mask will need to get with our Disabilities Coordinator Veronica Bowermaster (vbowermaster@laniertech.edu; 770-533-7003) in order for us work with you to make reasonable accommodations.
  • Social Distancing- Every student, employee, and campus visitor will be expected to practice Social Distancing by staying at least six feet apart from others as much as is possible. Classroom furniture has been arranged to enable Social Distancing as much as is possible. Because it is not always possible to practice Social Distancing in any interior space, students, employees, and campus visitors must wear masks while inside a campus building.
  • Hand Hygiene- While on campus, students, employees, and campus visitors will be expected to practice good hand hygiene by washing hands often for at least 20 seconds using soap and water. Because we understand that it is not always practical to go to the restroom to wash hands, hand sanitizers will be made available in classrooms, labs, and other work areas.
  • You will be required to complete a waiver statement acknowledging that you are not sick, that no one in your household is sick, that you have no reason to believe that you have been exposed to someone who has COVID-19, that you have not traveled outside of the United States over the last two weeks, and that you understand there is a risk involved with attending classes onsite.
• Your Responsibilities– In addition to practicing the health and safety standards discussed above, it is vitally important that you:

• • Do not come to campus if you are sick. (Please note, sick means sick- whether you think it is COVID or not. If you are sick or someone in your household is sick, then please do not come to campus).
  • Do not come to campus if someone in your household is sick.
  • Do not come to campus if you have reason to believe that you or a member of your household may have been exposed to someone who is confirmed to have COVID-19. (Understand that there is a difference from being in contact with someone who may have COVID and being exposed to someone who may have COVID. If in doubt of the difference between contact and exposure, stay home and call your instructor for more instructions.)
  • If you or someone in your household is being tested for COVID-19, or if you have been exposed to someone who is being tested for COVID-19, then do not come to campus until you know the results of that testing.
  • If in doubt regarding any of the above, stay home and contact your instructor for further instructions. We had much rather thank you for being cautious and then tell you that it is ok for you to come to campus than to have to send you home because you should not have been here.
  • Self-report to your instructor if you test positive for COVID-19 or have believe you have been exposed to someone with COVID-19. If you are confirmed to have COVID-19 or have been exposed to someone who is confirmed with COVID-19, then you will have to isolate yourself for a specific number of days. That number of days is based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH). The number of days you must remain isolated off campus are determined by your health conditions as well as by when you tested positive for COVID-19 or when you were exposed to someone with COVID-19. In most cases, you will have to stay off campus for at least ten days after testing positive for COVID-19 or being exposed to someone else who is positive for the virus. We will follow up with you and let you know when you will be allowed to return to campus. If you are well enough, you will be allowed to continue your coursework online as much as is possible.

Working together we can overcome the challenges brought on by COVID-19. Lanier Technical College is an essential operation. Our mission is workforce development. There have been few times, if any, when our graduates were in greater demand as they are now. We will partner with you to do everything we can to keep you and all of our employees safe while we provide you with excellent educational opportunities. And as always, we “guarantee” our graduates. We guarantee that you will be able to do the job for which you trained at Lanier Technical College or, within two years of your graduation, we will retrain you at no cost. This warranty is in force for all of our graduates regardless of whether you take your course work onsite, online, through an apprenticeship program, or any other instructional delivery model offered by Lanier Tech. Just as we’ve done since our founding in 1964, Lanier Technical College is committed to being “Partners in Progress” with our students.

Please feel free to contact me, your Academic Dean, your Campus Dean, or your instructor with any questions regarding Fall Semester at Lanier Tech.

Sincerely,

Ray Perren, President,
Lanier Technical College

Updated July 13, 2020

Dear Lanier Tech Students:
I want to start by expressing my sincere appreciation for your flexibility over the last few months. It is because of your hard work that we’ve been able to navigate these truly unique waters. Just as Spring and Summer Semesters looked different, Fall Semester will also look different due to the impacts of COVID-19. I know that you and the entire Lanier Tech team are up to the challenge.

In the coming weeks, I will be sending additional details regarding new safety precautions and as well as the other measures we will be taking to keep everyone safe. Briefly, we are asking masks to be worn by all those who are on our five campuses and other teaching sites including instructors, staff, and visitors. We will also have temperature kiosks available to assist with health screenings before entering any of our buildings. Labs and other areas will have additional social distancing requirements, which will be included in the final directives (available on our website: www.laniertech.edu) soon.

Though, we are all dealing with “the new normal” both at home and in other areas of our life, please remember we are all in it together. Our continued collaboration will ensure your success as you finish your studies at Lanier Tech and enter into the workforce. Don’t hesitate to reach out to anyone within the Lanier Tech family, including myself. We are here to help!

Sincerely,
Ray Perren, President,
Lanier Technical College

Updated May 5, 2020

Dear Lanier Technical College Students:

I want to begin by thanking each of you for your patience and your persistence as we work through the effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on our instructional programs. I have heard from many of your instructors over the past few weeks. They have all bragged on how quickly you made the transition from onsite to online students and at the very high percentages of you who are actively participating in the online courses. As you know by now, Spring Semester will end on May 13. For most of those of you in courses that require lab and/or clinical experiences, you will receive a grade of incomplete in those courses for now. We will provide opportunities for you to complete those labs just as quickly as we can safely return to campus. If you are a graduating high school senior or a spring semester Lanier Technical College graduate, we have made every effort to get you back on campus to complete your labs by the end of spring semester so that you will receive your final grade on time.

Lanier Technical College will begin Summer Semester on Monday, June 1, in an online learning format. We plan to offer some limited labs onsite. Lab classes are being submitted for approval under guidance from the Technical College System of Georgia and the Governor’s Executive Orders. Lab classes will follow the guidelines in place under the Executive Orders for the safety and wellbeing of students and faculty. Students registered for approved on campus labs will be notified of lab times and instructions for attending. You can get detailed information regarding course deliver for Summer Semester at https://www.laniertech.edu/summer-semester-2020/.

Lanier Technical College will remain closed to the public for the coming weeks. Our goal is to open back up in some capacity to the general public in June. Although our physical buildings will remain closed to the public for the coming weeks, we will conduct academic advisement and financial aid advisement online. You can contact these departments at academicaffairs@laniertech.edu and financial_aid@lanietech.edu. We encourage you to go online to order textbooks and other supplies from our bookstore at https://bookstore.laniertech.edu.  We will either ship these materials to you or we will arrange for curbside pickup on campus. We encourage you to use BannerWeb to make online payments for tuition and fees for Summer Semester. For instructions on paying online, go to https://www.laniertech.edu/pay-view-fees. For students who cannot make payments online, we will provide set hours for you to come to one of our campuses to make payments.

We continue to provide online library services, students for students with disabilities, career services, and support services to students who are Veterans of our Armed Forces.  For more information on accessing these services, and for the latest updates, please visit our website at https://www.laniertech.edu/coronavirus-covid‑19-information-and-resources/. If you have any difficulty in accessing our online systems, our help desk is available to serve you at https://www.laniertech.edu/help-center/.

If you have not already registered for Summer Semester, I encourage you to do so as quickly as possible. Many of our courses are filling up quickly due to increased demand for online courses.

Thank you for selecting Lanier Technical College as your education partner. We have been “Partners in Progress” with our students since 1964. We are all in this Pandemic together. Working together, we will come out of the Pandemic stronger than we were before.

Sincerely,
Ray Perren, President
Lanier Technical College

Updated March 26, 2020

Dear Lanier Technical College Students:

First of all, I want to thank you for the tremendous job you are doing in transitioning from onsite to online instruction. I have heard from some of you and from many of your instructors regarding how well the transition has worked to this point. Please reach out to us to let us know of any assistance we can provide as you take courses online.

Next, I want to make you aware that in accordance with an Executive Order of Governor Brian Kemp, Lanier Technical College will remain physically closed for the remainder of the semester. You can access the Governor’s Executive Order at https://gov.georgia.gov/document/2020-executive-order/03262002/download. Although our campuses are physically closed, we will continue to offer online instruction in all of our courses for the remainder of the semester. While we will be able to provide some lab instruction on a limited basis, most of our courses will be completed 100% online. Your instructors will be working directly with you regarding any lab that we are able to provide between now and the remainder of the semester.

The labs we offer this semester will be approved on a case-by-case basis by the Technical College System of Georgia and will be delivered using the health and safety guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Georgia Department of Public Health (DPH), and the local governments in whose jurisdiction our campuses are located. Again, we will make every effort to complete as many lab experiences as possible. We will also work with students who are unable to complete a course due to the unavailability of a lab or clinical experience this semester by giving extended opportunities to complete lab and clinical work even after this semester ends.

I know these are difficult times. Lanier Technical College is committed to working with you as we get through this pandemic together. Please be sure to check out the list of student resources and frequently asked questions at https://www.laniertech.edu/coronavirus-covid 19-information-and-resources/.

Sincerely,
Ray Perren, President,
Lanier Technical College

Updated March 17, 2020

Dear Lanier Technical College Students:

Thank you for your patience as the college prepares to make the transition from teaching primarily on site to teaching online. Although the College is physically closed to the public through March 31 in compliance with Governor Kemp’s Executive Order of March 16, 2020 (https://madmimi.com/s/a809601), we are providing instruction in all courses online using BlackBoard beginning Monday, March 23. For those of you not familiar with using BlackBoard beyond checking your course grades, you will receive specific instruction for accessing and using BlackBoard in the coming days. Please check your Lanier Tech student email for these updates.

Although we hope that we will be able to bring some students back on campus on April 1, due to the nature of the COVID-19 Pandemic, we cannot state for certain that this will happen. It is likely that many of our courses will continue to be delivered online for several more weeks to come. It may even become necessary to extend Spring Semester by at least one or two weeks due to the Pandemic.

In light of the recommendation from the Centers for Disease Control, for the next eight weeks, we are postponing gatherings where we would expect greater than 50 people to attend. This means that Commencement Ceremony scheduled for Friday, May 8 will be postponed. It is important to note that we are not cancelling graduation, we are postponing it. We will announce a new date for graduation as soon as we can.

Please know that your safety and the safety of our employees is of paramount importance to us as we navigate through these uncharted waters. Please know that we are very aware that every decision we make impacts our students and employees in some way. None of these decisions are made lightly. I am committed to communicating with you on a regular basis as the College continues to adapt to this ever-changing situation. Please remember to check our website at https://www.laniertech.edu/coronavirus-covid‑19-information-and-resources/ and to check your Lanier Tech student email account at least once each day.

Stay safe!

Sincerely,

Ray Perren, President,
Lanier Technical College