AACC will continue to follow federal, state and local restrictions in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, these restrictions are subject to change and the college will remain flexible to respond appropriately to any changes in status. For the most recent information about the county guidelines, visit the Anne Arundel County Department of Health website.
Employees and students are not required to be vaccinated at this time but are encouraged to do so. Our Health Sciences programs, however, have separate requirements where a vaccine may be necessary.
All Anne Arundel County residents are eligible for the vaccine in accordance with the county’s vaccination timeline. Visit the county’s vaccine timeline website and its distribution website for more information. The college will continue to follow federal, state and county guidance regarding the requirements related to vaccinated individuals.
Effective July 1, masks are no longer required indoors at all AACC facilities. The wearing of masks will remain optional and encouraged for those not fully vaccinated. Campus signage will be updated to reflect this change.
Masks may still be required in places outside of AACC where you should follow state or local laws (e.g. for health program clinical sites).
Students, faculty and staff are recommended to continue social distancing, but this is not required starting July 1.
To protect the safety and public health of the AACC campus and community, all employees, students, visitors, volunteers, vendors and contractors are still required to complete an attestation form. This is a health pledge that an individual is not experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, has not tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 14 days or has not been exposed to COVID-19 in the last 14 days if the individuals has not been vaccinated, and will monitor their health.
More details are below.
All students will complete an attestation form when registering for classes. This is required even if all of your classes are online. If you are enrolled in classes, your attestation is automatically included when you register so you don't have to complete another one.
All employees are required to submit a health attestation form even if they are working from home.
The attestation is set up as a Microsoft form. Log in as you normally would on the college’s sign-in page, read each statement and, if appropriate, click on the “Agree” box, sign and complete the form. We also have a Spanish language version of the form available.
The information will be stored securely and you will receive an email confirmation with a copy of the attestation for your records. If you have any questions, contact Human Resources at humanresources@aacc.edu.
Download, print and sign the Visitor Attestation Regarding COVID-19. Email the form to COVIDsafety@aacc.edu when completed.
Vendors, contractors and suppliers that are required to be present on college property should follow these Guidelines to Vendors, Contractors and Suppliers Regarding COVID-19.
If an employee or student is experiencing COVID-19 symptoms, do not come to campus.
All students, faculty and staff must complete the COVID Safety form within 24 hours of:
The college’s COVID safety staff will advise the appropriate supervisors, employees, faculty and staff on next steps. The COVID safety staff will manage each individual case from initial report to clearance to return to campus.
A college representative will contact any campus-related individuals that the employee or student has come into close contact with, stating that they must quarantine until further notice because they may have been exposed to a presumptively ill person while on campus, unless the individual was fully vaccinated prior to the exposure. To the extent possible, the college will not disclose personally identifiable information. Local health departments may also conduct contact tracing and advise employees and students of next steps regarding testing and quarantine requirements.
According to the Anne Arundel County Department of Health, anyone who has been exposed to someone with COVID-19 who has not been fully vaccinated should:
For more information, visit Anne Arundel County Department of Health’s website.
We have implemented protocols both inside and outside of the classroom in accordance with public health guidelines while keeping our community safe.
If a presumptively ill student is present on campus, the instructor will cancel the class until further notice. If an instructor cancels a class, the instructor must notify the Assistant Dean/Director/Dean immediately via email that class has been canceled due to a presumptively ill student being present in a classroom. If the presumptively ill student was in another room or office on campus, the room or office will be immediately closed and will not be reopened until the room or office is sanitized.
If a presumptively ill employee is present on campus, the supervisor will require the employee to leave campus immediately until further notice. The college will determine which spaces on campus need to be temporarily closed and sanitized and conduct contact tracing to work with the county health department to determine if others need to quarantine.
The college will follow CDC guidance for cleaning and disinfection as follows:
Operations can resume as soon as the cleaning and disinfection are completed.
Facilities routinely conducts building assessments to ensure that all systems are functional, including the standardized process of “pre-semester checks”, which focus on the functionality and safety of all student-centric spaces. These assessments have been updated to include specific COVID-19 checklists.
Physical barriers (plexiglass) have been installed to the extent possible at service counter locations throughout the college. Facilities continues to ensure that all energy management systems are functioning properly and regularly monitors air quality and filtration systems.
The custodial staff is responsible for disinfecting classrooms every evening.
The virus that causes COVID-19 can be killed readily with disinfectant products, including sprays, concentrates and wipes. Facilities has increased cleaning and disinfecting of high-touch surfaces and restrooms. Some surfaces are cleaned multiple times a day based on usage: light switches, door handles, handrails, drinking fountains, plumbing fixtures, restroom stalls, etc.
The custodial staff is responsible for disinfecting all hard surfaces in common areas nightly including door levers, work surfaces, hard seating, hallways, classrooms, restrooms, etc. Most of this cleaning happens every evening, Monday–Friday. Electrostatic sprayers are used for large area disinfection and in restrooms.
Hand sanitizer is provided on every floor in every building at the entrances. Keyboards, mice, PCs, peripherals, etc. in common areas are disinfected several times per week. Hand washing instruction signs have been placed in all bathrooms on the front doors and inside the restrooms on the mirrors.
As with many of these procedures, the cleaning protocols are subject to change based on guidance from health officials.
Employees and students should review the latest CDC guidance for cleaning and disinfecting.
Everyone at AACC will be expected to do their part. Students, faculty and staff are encouraged to wipe down their work areas as they enter the location, before beginning their work. All classrooms, labs and spaces where students meet with faculty or staff will be supplied with cleaning supplies.
Employees are responsible for their personal spaces. Everyone is encouraged to wipe down their hard surfaces with a disinfectant. The college will provide disinfectant and paper towels in labs, classrooms and office suites. These materials will be replenished each day. Custodians will remove all trash, vacuum, and clean doorknobs, keypads and light switches nightly.
Faculty or lab staff should work with their departments to create a plan for each hands-on course to ensure self-cleaning duties are assigned. Students should be shown how to fully clean and disinfect any special equipment or tools that they are required to use in their courses.
Custodial support requests and any other questions can be directed to 410-777-2345.
The college follows American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) standards for our heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) equipment. Various Facilities Maintenance and Operations personnel monitor our building systems (air flow rates, static pressure, relative humidity, supply and return temperatures, etc.) multiple times daily. The college follows ASHRAE recommendations and conducts a 2-hour building air flush each day prior to occupancy by bringing in 100% outside air. The college has also upgraded all air filters to Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value (MERV) 13, as recommended by ASHRAE.
Due to the lack of activity in some buildings and limited activity in others, the team is flushing the building water systems (faucets, water closets water fountains, etc.) on a weekly basis. This assures water clarity and quality.