Many outcomes are unpredictable at the onset of any major crisis. But at least one can be depended on: in an emergency, we find out who our real friends are.
No one alive has ever experienced anything quite like the COVID-19 pandemic. No matter how versatile and nimble most community colleges are, this put a particular strain on our under-funded open-access institutions.
ACCT’s
Corporate Council is full of true-blue community college friends who have come through in the time of greatest need.
These companies have been solving the most difficult challenges for students and colleges for years, and many have opened up their services to the public during this time of greatest need.
Below is a compilation of free resources that ACCT Corporate Council members are offering to help your college get through this unprecedented time.
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CampusWorks is a transformation partner dedicated exclusively to higher education that works with community colleges throughout the country to adapt and evolve to meet students’ needs. In March and April, the company hosted online “learning shots”—actionable information for higher-education leaders in the face of COVID-19 disruption. These brief online lessons address
how to manage remotely, how registrars can tap into stop-gap technologies to
open registration and test-drive the future,
keeping fiscal operations on track despite uncertainty and disruption,
a COVID-19 cyber security update—protecting staff and students from emerging threats, and ‘preventing COVID-melt’—
preserving college enrollment during and after the pandemic. Learn more at
www.campusworksinc.com/news/detail/covid-19-support/.
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Cengage creates learning experiences that build confidence and momentum toward the future students want. The company designs tools that make learning accessible to all, and in doing so supports the open-access mission of all community colleges. For U.S. higher education institutions experiencing unplanned, mid-semester impacts due to COVID-19, Cengage in March began offering
free access to all of its digital platforms and 14,000 ebooks through Cengage Unlimited throughout the remainder of the spring semester. Access resources at
www.cengage.com/covid-19-support/.
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EAB’s mission is to make education smarter and communities stronger. EAB has created
free resources specifically to address the COVID-19 pandemic to support and retain students. Researchers and experts from EAB have published online over 40 short articles on how higher education is responding to COVID-19, with more added daily. The page also includes a
database of policies set by schools,
tips for moving staff and students to a virtual environment, and
templates for effective communication. For more information, go to
eab.com/research/strategy/resource-center/support-your-campus-through-the-coronavirus-crisis/.
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Edquity helps students find the emergency resources they need to keep them on the path to graduation. As soon as the pandemic crisis began, Edquity launched StudentReliefFund.org, an
online fundraiser to support students who were faced with sudden housing and food insecurity. The Student Relief Fund is a collaboration between Believe in Students, Edquity and the Rise Education Fund to support students affected by COVID-19-related campus shutdowns. For more information, go to
https://edquity.co/COVID-19.pdf.
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Ellucian
is well known to most higher education institutions as the maker of such ubiquitous software packages as Banner, Colleague and Power Campus and a provider of services that facilitate and advance student and institutional success. In support of colleges and students affected by the COVID-19 crisis, Ellucian has created
webinars about business continuity best practices
,
how to power remote campuses
, and more. To access this information, visit
www.ellucian.com/business-continuity-coronavirus
.
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Emsi began as an ACCT-supported initiative to research and communicate the returns of community college educations to local, state, and national economies. Now part of the Strada Education Network, Emsi has grown to a major international economic and workforce development organization. In March and April, the company began adding daily job-postings data to labor market analysis
tools to identify, prioritize and support local businesses impacted by COVID-19 restrictions and closures. For more information, data tools, research and webinars to help with COVID-19 response are available at
www.economicmodeling.com/covid-19-resources/.
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Ferrilli
is a technology services provider that specializes in serving the functional and technical needs of higher education as a strategic partner dedicated to compliance, security and customer service. Ferrilli is helping community colleges adjust to the new normal by offering two webinars. “
Grading Scheme Transitions
,” scheduled for April 9, will discuss how to transition the grading scheme of a section from alphanumeric to pass/fail, and “
New Financial Aid Implications
,” scheduled for April 23, will help college leaders decipher how the CARES Act may impact your institution’s financial aid process, things for institutions to consider and potential pitfalls to avoid. The company is also offering enhanced helpdesk, campus remote readiness, virtual desktop and other supports. For more information, visit Ferrilli.com or call 888.864.3282.
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McGraw-Hill believes that learning changes everything. The company applies the science of learning to create innovative solutions to improve education outcomes around the world. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, McGraw-Hill is offering three services free of charge for spring 2020:
access to digital materials, including McGraw-Hill Connect® and McGraw-Hill ALEKS® with Remote Proctoring and eBook,
complimentary faculty training, course setup and online tutorials, and
LMS integration to facilitate homework, quizzes and exams. To learn more, visit
www.mheducation.com/ideas/announcements/mcgraw-hill-supporting-schools-and-learners-covid19.
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Ocelot builds artificial-intelligence-powered tools and develops content for higher education institutions. The company’s automated chat bots and video platform enables staff and student communities to engage and thrive in an ever-changing, resource-constrained world. Ocelot’s services have been in demand since colleges have been forced to operate remotely. In March, Ocelot began providing colleges with a
free AI chatbot to communicate with and support students on COVID-19 related questions for as long as needed. This emergency response support tool is simple to implement, includes preloaded content, and the ability to customize and update immediately. For more information, go to
covid19.ocelotbot.com.
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Single Stop is a national nonprofit organization that works to leverage technology and partnerships to connect individuals to existing resources. In March, Single Stop announced that it has made its
benefits screener along with COVID-19 resource toolkits available for free to anyone in states where Single Stop currently operates (Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina and Pennsylvania, Virginia and the District of Columbia.)
The benefits screener allows individuals to screen themselves for an array of public benefits, including food supports, tax credits and health insurance, and provides information about how to apply for or access those benefits in their area. While the screener is typically only available to partners who license the full technology suite, Single Stop decided to release the screener portion of the technology publicly as a public service during the COVID-19 event. The organization also will be offering
webinars in the coming weeks on
virtual case management, as well as on any
emergency benefits released at the federal level. For more information, go to
singlestop.org/covid19/.
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We are grateful to the ACCT Corporate Council for sharing these resources.
We are grateful to you for the hard work you're doing to support your students and your communities.
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