Lisa Watson

Leaders at Northwest College will not require masks on campus in the fall semester, nor will students and faculty be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19. However, there remains a lot of uncertainty over what responses could be put in place as cases increase in Park County and Wyoming.

“For right now, we’re going to start the year without a mask mandate, and we’re going to watch it very closely,” NWC Interim President Lisa Watson said at Monday’s meeting of the college’s board of trustees. 

NWC’s decision contrasts with the University of Wyoming, which recently decided to require masks throughout indoor areas on campus for at least the next month. Watson said the university’s trustees initially opposed the move, but over the course of a couple days, they reversed course and enacted a mandate. 

Watson said none of the community colleges in the state are requiring masks or vaccinations. They are following Wyoming Department of Health guidelines, which, unlike last year, are no longer in sync with those issued by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; the current state guidelines are more geared toward allowing people to decide how best to protect themselves, with Gov. Mark Gordon saying Monday that “no mandates will come from this office.”

Watson said every prospective student who’s inquired about mask mandates has “unequivocally” said they will not attend NWC if there is such a requirement. 

“It doesn’t mean it’s right, wrong or indifferent. I’m just telling you the feedback we’re getting,” Watson said. 

Trustee Carolyn Danko pointed to rising COVID-19 figures for Park County — which had 93 people infected with confirmed and probable cases on Tuesday — and noted it’s considered a high risk area for the disease. 

Park County Public Health officials have said “we’re in for another year” of dealing with the risk of the virus, Watson warned, and she said the college administration is monitoring the situation. 

“Everyone in the incident command is very cognizant of where we are,” Watson said. 

The president noted there will be changes in resources available from Park County Public Health and Powell Valley Healthcare. 

Last year, for example, there was a hotline students and faculty could call if they felt ill, which could help them decide how best to respond — including directing them to testing and if they needed to go to the hospital. 

“We used that a ton, because we’re not medical professionals,” so any students or faculty with concerns were referred to the hotline, Watson said. 

However, the hotline is no longer available. 

If students or employees feel ill, Watson said they are asked to stay home, talk to their medical professionals, assess the situation and decide how to proceed. 

If a test for COVID comes back positive, the college will notify students and faculty who may have come in contact with the infected person of the potential exposure to the disease. They can then decide for themselves how to respond. 

Last fall, the college had a “soft reopening,” and the incident command team made a number of adjustments: They rearranged furniture so students weren’t sitting close together for long periods of time, though the exact parameters of social distancing guidance were not defined. Watson warned that, should the school need to require 6 feet of distance between people, the classroom sizes at NWC won’t be able to accommodate that spacing. As such, all instruction will be converted to an online format, if it comes to that. 

Following Department of Health guidelines, Watson said students or employees have the option to wear masks, if they desire. 

She added that vaccinations are available to anyone who wants them, describing the shots as something the college will encourage but not mandate. This includes holding another vaccination clinic on Aug. 28 (see sidebar).

“There are tools there,” Watson said. 

Trustee Dusty Spomer asked how changes in the guidance at the college would be executed, should the need arise, and if the board would be involved in those decisions. 

Watson said with the many unknowns and uncertainties last year, she made a lot of executive decisions on how to respond, such as when to shut down athletics and when to resume them. 

She said she’d defer to guidelines from the board, but didn’t want “hamstring operations” by requiring board approval on policy changes every time. 

Spomer said he agreed that getting approval from the board would impede responses, especially if emergency changes were made. 

The NWC board decided the best approach would be to have the board review the college’s COVID-19 response plan at its next meeting, set for Monday, Sept. 13.

Students will begin moving into Northwest College’s residence halls on Saturday, Aug. 28, with the fall semester classes beginning on Wednesday, Sept. 1.

NWC hosts vaccine clinic for students, staff

The Northwest College Nursing Department is partnering with Park County Public Health to provide NWC employees and students an opportunity to become vaccinated against COVID-19. 

The vaccine requires two sequential dosages to achieve a level of immunity. The first clinic is from Saturday, Aug. 28, while the second follows on Tuesday, Sept. 21. Those receiving the shot will need to plan to attend both clinics, held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the NWC Yellowstone Building Nursing Lab Room 145. There is no charge for the vaccination.

To sign up, email Marneé Crawford by Wednesday, Aug. 25, at marnee.crawford@nwc.edu or call 307-754-6474.