July 10, 2020
The East Central Community College campus in Decatur will fully reopen to students and the general public beginning at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 13.
The college’s centers in Philadelphia, Choctaw, Louisville, Forest, and Carthage will also reopen to visitors on July 13.
The ECCC campus has been closed to students and visitors since March 16, with classes transitioning to online and alternate delivery formats for the remainder of the spring semester, and both the June and July summer semesters.
Employees have been transitioning back to work over the past few weeks, with the college fully staffed Monday through Friday beginning Monday, July 6.
Current office hours on the main campus in Decatur are 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to Noon on Friday.
“The college’s Pandemic Response Team and now the Reopening of Campus Task Force have worked hard over the past few months to put us in a position to begin reopening our campus,” said ECCC President Dr. Brent Gregory. “Our number one priority remains the health and safety of not only our students and visitors, but also our faculty and staff. We ask that all those who come to campus or one of our centers around the district adhere to the health and safety protocols implemented by the college and posted throughout the campus.”
Those needing to visit an office on campus must adhere to all college health and safety protocols, including, but not limited to, social distancing (at least six feet), wearing a mask, washing hands regularly, and using hand sanitizer provided inside the entrance of each college building. Those individuals with a fever, who have been exposed to someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, or exhibit any of the symptoms associated with the virus as defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Mississippi State Department of Health are asked not to come to campus or to one of the off-site locations across the five-county district.
The college also requests that students and visitors come to campus alone if possible to limit the number of people on campus at any one time.
Assistance with admissions, registration, financial aid, online classes, and other areas associated with attending ECCC is also available via email, telephone, or Zoom virtual meeting. Appointments can be scheduled by completing and submitting the form located at www.eccc.edu/go-virtual.
ECCC continues to make plans to resume in-person, on-campus classes beginning with the fall 2020 semester. Fall 2020 full-term day and evening on-campus classes begin on Monday, Aug. 17. Online classes begin Monday, Aug. 24.
The fall 2020 semester will end the week of Thanksgiving so that students do not have to return to campus after the Thanksgiving holiday. The abbreviated fall term calendar will allow students to return home for several weeks to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus during a period when there is predicted to be an increase in the number of cases.
The abbreviated fall term academic calendar will be accomplished by using Fridays and other open dates and holidays to fully complete classes and labs. ECCC moved to a four-day class schedule in spring 2016, with Fridays open for studying and learning opportunities outside the classroom. Online classes conducted by the Mississippi Virtual Community College could extend past the Thanksgiving holiday.
Gregory said the Reopening of Campus Task Force that includes Instruction, Student Services, and Health and Safety committees continues to work on the plan to safely resume in-person classes beginning with the fall 2020 term.
Registration for any ECCC academic term can be done online at www.eccc.edu using the Student tab under the myEC portal, which includes all the information students need to register, including course schedules and academic calendars.
In order to register, students must complete the admissions process: complete and submit the Application for Admission; submit ACT or Accuplacer scores, which are used for placement in English and math; and submit high school or college transcripts. Transfer students must have all college transcripts on file before they can register for classes.
Students who need assistance registering for classes once logged in to myEC should contact registration@eccc.edu. Students who have questions about their admissions status or who need help in applying to attend ECCC should contact the Office of Admissions at sholling@eccc.edu or 601-635-6207.
