When you return to one of our campuses you will notice many changes – seating areas will be marked off or eliminated, Plexiglas partitions have been added to provide a protective environment for your face-to-face meetings with college personnel, limited numbers of people allowed in classrooms at any point in time, and safe distance markers and signage to enhance social distancing. And these may vary from campus to campus. You need to be aware that the environment around the college, as a whole, has changed dramatically in some places and subtly in others. Take time to learn what is expected of you, and those around you, in the various places you attend classes and gather socially.
Printable version of the gtcSmart Welcome Back Guide (pdf) »
Greenville Technical College (GTC) wants its students to know, and trust, they are in a safe environment in which they can learn. With that said, we have developed a series of protocols, in line with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), to protect the well-being of each student on our campuses. These protocols include disinfecting rooms after use, cleaning door handles, taking care to clean restrooms, deep cleaning high traffic areas, providing all personnel with disinfecting cleaners, and many other actions demonstrating to our students the assurance of a safe learning environment. While the college does not guarantee these measures to prevent all virus transmission, we do believe we are taking all the right steps to protect you during this pandemic.
Other actions we are taking to prevent virus transmission concern new office practices. When you come back to campus, you will notice all GTC personnel wearing facemasks. We will provide those to you as well. You will also notice protective barriers between our personnel and any visitors to their offices. These Plexiglas shields, coupled with facemasks, will dramatically decrease the possibility of virus transmission. Another action you will see are visible prompts to practice social distancing and other actions to lessen the possibility of your transmission of, or contracting the coronavirus.GTC is made up of more than just its personnel. Students make up the largest group in our family. This fall semester our student population will be over 10,000 strong! And you need to help us curb the transmission of COVID-19. There are protocols we need you to practice as you enter any of our campuses. We call these protocols gtcSMART. Whether you are at school, home, work, or out in the community, ensuring you and others are protected from COVID-19 is being gtcSMART. We, at GTC, want you to stay on track and succeed in school, work and life. gtcSMART stands for:
S Stay home if you are sick
M Mask up when you are around others
A Avoid large groups
R Refresh indoor air
T Ten (10) feet is better than six
Practicing these protocols will give us all a better chance of not contracting COVID-19. And you will be doing your part to help protect our community. Thanks in advance for giving these practices your undivided attention! (Adapted from ForHealth.org)In addition, we have developed a list of short videos chosen to demonstrate how you can further develop habits that are gtcSMART. These videos, developed by the CDC, give a visual representation of how these crucial habits are practiced.
Being gtcSMART means the physical nature of meeting with college personnel has changed due to COVID-19. You will find additional gtcSMART meeting options save you time while keeping you from unnecessary exposure to COVID-19.
First, we will continue our personal face-to-face meetings with students. You will notice we have placed, like many other businesses, Plexiglas partitions in places where meetings take place. In some cases, these are permanent partitions and in others, the partitions are movable/temporary. In any case, we place partitions for your protection. Please contact the office with which you would like to schedule an appointment. They will discuss with you the process of your face-to-face appointment.
Secondly, we will conduct business by phone if you request. We ask you to schedule an appointment by contacting (by phone or email) the college personnel with whom you would like to speak. Make the appointment and we will call you at the appointment time.
Another manner of connecting with our students is through two-way texting. This operates just like any type of texting. We can connect with you and hold a virtual meeting via text on your mobile device.
Finally, one of the newest, and safest, methods of contacting college personnel is through Zoom meetings and Blackboard Collaborate. Just like the phone appointment, you can schedule an appointment and we will send you an invitation through email. You sign on at the appointment time and meet with the college personnel who can answer your questions. We have found an excellent tutorial to introduce you to Zoom meetings here: Zoom Meeting Tutorial. There is also an excellent tutorial on using Blackboard Collaborate and it can be found here: Blackboard Collaborate Tutorial.
Keep in mind, one of our goals is to help our students, and potential students, by assisting them to make the best choices about their college experience.
For the safety of all staff and students, the following conduct rules are in place for all students. Violation of these rules will result in disciplinary sanctions.
gtcSMART ZONES are areas located around the college where students can go to share concerns, ask questions, and seek guidance on COVID-19-related issues.
Locate any purple, yellow or green stickers around campus to address issues related to Access & Success, Physical Health or Emotional Well-Being.
Access & Success |
Physical Health |
Emotional Well-being |
---|---|---|
Denotes a resource area for questions and concerns related to services designed to help you succeed at GTC. |
Designates a resource area for questions and concerns related to physical health and safety. |
Indicates a resource area for questions and concerns related to emotional well-being. |
Examples include Blackboard, Tutoring, Online support, COVID-19 academic policies, orientation, Student Disability Services, etc. |
Examples include directions to COVID-19 testing sites, health screenings, etc. |
Examples include stress, fear, anxiety, depression, etc. Contact the GTC Counseling Center at 250-8322 for assistance |
Of primary concern is your success in the classroom. Your success there translates to graduation from GTC and finding that occupation providing you with life satisfaction. GTC offers many resources to help you navigate the academic road you have chosen for yourself. These include tutoring, academic coaching, disability services and various other support mechanisms.
Maintaining your physical health is key to your success as a student, especially in these days of COVID-19. It is of utmost importance for you to concern yourself with taking proper measures to prevent your COVID-19 and passing it on to others around you. Many people are “asymptomatic” (meaning they demonstrate no visible symptoms of the disease) and may easily pass it on to their friends, family and acquaintances. To others, the symptoms of COVID-19 do not appear for days after exposure. It is for these reasons, and others, we require you to wear a mask while on campus and ask you to practice social distancing and correct handwashing techniques. When you exercise these measures you protect yourself and others from COVID-19.
Disease outbreaks such as COVID-19 can bring on stress and increased levels of fear and anxiety. Everyone reacts differently to stressful situations. Greenville Technical College’s Counseling Center is available to offer emotional support to students and has increased available services during this stressful period. These services are available to students in person and virtually. The Counseling Center provides mental and emotional well-being resources for students as well as referrals to community resources.
Remember, many college community members have the same concerns you are experiencing. Faculty, staff and administrators are concerned with their exposure to the coronavirus and passing it along to their family members. At the core of our beliefs is to treat you, our student, with the greatest amount of care and respect when working with you. Please remember to give us the same measure of respect we believe you are entitled to receiving. Your experience with our personnel will be much better if you do.
If you are experiencing an immediate crisis, dial 911 or call the Upstate Area Crisis Hotline at (864) 271-8888.Please fill out a COVID-19 Report Form on GTC’s COVID-19 website at https://www.gvltec.edu/covid/.
A member of the COVID-19 Response Team will be in contact with you within 24 hours to investigate your situation and provide additional guidance. If you are unsure if you should fill out a form, remember “When in doubt, fill it out, we will help figure it out!” Notify your instructors and let them know you have submitted a COVID-19 Report form.
We’ll be offering 10% traditional face-to-face, 40% blended and 50% (totally) online.
Requirements include a computer or laptop with a camera/webcam and microphone and access to Microsoft Suite.
Preferred methods of registration for EDCT courses are:
Students that are symptomatic for COVID should complete the COVID-19 Reporting form
A member of the college’s response team will provide them with next steps.Inform your instructor about your concern. The college does have a medical withdrawal policy in place that students can request in these circumstances:
https://www.gvltec.edu/3-GTC-200_Late_Withdrawal_Student_Guidelines_Packet/Greenville Technical College is committed to providing the most up-to-date and factual information about COVID-19. Information is available for students, faculty, and staff on the college’s website and can be found along with the college’s reopening plan at https://www.gvltec.edu/covid/. GTC has also developed a COVID reporting form for anyone who has:
GTC has various resources to assist students with their finances. One is through our Financial Aid Office. To be considered for financial aid students must fill out the federal government FAFSA form that can be found at https://studentaid.gov/. Once this step is completed, our Financial Aid Office will determine your eligibility and award financial aid accordingly. This may be in the form of Lottery Tuition Assistance, Pell Grant and subsidized/unsubsidized loans. Many of these financial aid programs allow you to use the grants/loans for personal expenses associated with going to college. You will need to check with our Financial Aid Office for confirmation on this. You will also find more information about the Financial Aid process at our website: https://www.gvltec.edu/fa-process/.
The college is also associated with the Greenville Technical College Foundation. It exists to help the college and students meet their needs in providing an affordable college experience. It offers several student grant, scholarship and loan programs to students in need of aid for college and personal expenses. Contact the Financial Aid Office located in the ARC at McAlister Square by email (Financialaid@gvltec.edu), call (864) 250-8000, or a visit to the Office. A Financial Aid advisor will be more than happy to assist you.
Please keep in mind that EDCT courses are non-credit bearing courses and do not qualify for financial aid through the above-mentioned means.The first step is by contacting the Financial Aid Office located in the ARC at McAlister Square by email (Financialaid@gvltec.edu), call (864) 250-8000, or a visit to the office. A Financial Aid advisor will be more than happy to assist you in determining the qualifications for your individual scholarships.
Another step might be arranging for an academic coach or a tutor. These individuals are experts at helping you with personal issues surrounding the classroom as well as giving you lessons concerning particular courses you might be taking. These services are free to all students and are most effective when you recognize the first sign of problems in the classroom. You can reach academic coaching by calling (864) 250-8789 and tutoring by calling (864) 250-8303.Yes, the college does have resources to assist you if you experience financial hardship. One of the first resources is the GTC Foundation. The Foundation provides resources to students in the form of loans and grants if for some reason the student experiences financial hardship that general forms of financial aid will not cover. The Foundation can be reached by contacting Ginger Mauney at (864) 250-8497 or Ginger.Mauney@gvltec.edu for an application. The application requires a faculty/staff reference. So, you will have to reach out to a faculty or staff member who understands your situation. Modest requests are considered for emergency needs like utility cutoffs, eviction, or unforeseen medical needs. Documentation of financial need is required and payment is typically made to the vendor, not the student.
Keep in mind the following requirements for eligibility: 1) A student must have attended at least one term at GTC prior to application, 2) must currently be enrolled in 6+ credit hours, and 3) can only receive assistance once per academic year.
An additional resource the college offers is our food bank – the Caring Corner. The food bank is open for all students who experience food insecurity. The Caring Corner is located in Building 103 and can be reached by calling (864) 250-8003. More information concerning the Caring Corner can be found at The Caring Corner.
Sometimes students need to speak with someone who can assist them restructure their financial life. The college also offers the Financial Education Center. This group of college personnel and students are trained to help students understand the intricacies of budgeting and planning. They can be reached by calling (864) 250-8814. Additional information can be found at https://www.gvltec.edu/financial-education/.
Keep in mind, there are multiple ways (e.g. email, telephone, Zoom, face-to-face, texting) for arranging meetings with our personnel. Please contact them as listed in their respective sections and ask for the method that best suits you.
All of our events will be broadcast on our social media channels, which will allow you to participate from your home. For now, almost all of our events will be virtual. However, if there is an event that allows for physical attendance, the following safety measures will be put into practice:
Social distancing signage will be posted at all campuses. Face coverings will be required for everyone on Greenville Technical College's campuses and properties – whether employee, student, visitor, or vendor. The college's administration will evaluate the COVID-19 situation at regular intervals, determining whether current information on the disease means that we continue or eliminate the face coverings policy.
Until further notice, face coverings will be required anywhere on campus – outside or in. The only exception will be when someone is working alone in an enclosed office. Students who are unable to wear masks should discuss the situation with the Dean of Students Office or the Student Disability Services Office and a face shield will be made available if needed. Face coverings will be provided, if needed, by the college and will be distributed from the Student Center. This policy will be strictly enforced.