Q&A with President Cox (Fall 2021)

by Alexandria Zine

John Cox

What is the current state of the Spring 2022 COVID protocols? Can you outline the precise plan for the following semester at this time, despite the fact that it is subject to change?

Just to go over the current state of where we are with the COVID-19 protocols for the spring semester, we are going to continue following the guidelines of the Centers for Disease Control in the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Basically, you will see a continuation of the masking requirement when people are in buildings or when they are gathered close together outside of the building. You will see the continuation of our indoor air filtration and there will be the distancing requirement, minimum of three feet between people when they are on campus.

We are moving to a requirement that students be vaccinated along with everybody who is on campus. There are some provisions for reasonable accommodations for people on those vaccine requirements, mainly around health concerns and some limited accommodations for religious backgrounds. We are looking at that requirement becoming effective in total for the spring semester, so it is important that students begin to get their shots now because there is that certain wait between the first and second shot, and then after the second shot before it is fully effective. That is in play and is a statewide initiative across all the community colleges and it was driven in-part because the FDA had provided the full approval for the vaccine. That became the driver to move forward with this requirement as we continue to increase the public health and help mitigate some of the issue surrounding the COVID-19 virus; that is out there.

We are expecting, as we continue to progress here and more people are vaccinated, that we will gradually get back to an environment that we are more familiar with from two years ago. It

will probably take a bit longer. We will be wearing the mask for a little longer, but we are making progress as we continue to navigate through the pandemic.

What is the psychological capacity of the faculty and students after all that’s transpired? What is the physical capacity of the 4Cs campus now?

I think the pandemic has had a tremendous impact across the community, across the globe, in terms of our mental health. As we have really worked on several of those challenges, everything from the ability to help students out with some of the challenges regarding hardware and computers at home to work remotely; to tying into the internet, connectivity, the digital divide if you will; having to deal with some of the stresses concerning access to the teaching and learning that was moved online and virtually. There is also a challenge in dealing with some of the implications that people are now remote, not necessarily near and around other people to the same extent we had been previously. As social beings, it becomes sort of a challenge for how we manage day-to-day when we do not have that level of connectivity.

We have worked to increase some of the Student Wellness programs and support that we have for our students. In particular, you are probably familiar with Dr. Maura Weir in our Wellness Office and the work that we have available through the TalkCampus. There is also help through the Christy Campus Health, which is that 24/7 access that we have enabled for our students, should there be issues that they run across. They have a professional that they can talk to quickly when needed. I think that helps to take some of the edge off of those moments when people find themselves in a tight spot.

We have also, as we have progressed through this, been working around the notion of how we can reengage a little bit more as a community, even given the pandemic. If you look at today, for example, we have the Autumn Feast going on, which has gone back to being a little bit

familiar to what it was a few years ago when the administration did serve the meal for all the students, faculty, and staff. We also have the ability for a grab-and-go for those people who would be comfortable taking the food with them rather than eating in the Grossman Commons, but it becomes another mechanism that we are beginning to bring people back. You have the ability to socialize with others in a friendly, warm environment and we follow the protocols. It begins to take some of that edge off of the challenge that people have been out there, some have been pretty much on their own and alone. Now, we are gradually working our way back at that.

Hopefully, we will get through the pandemic in a timely manner and we will have some restoration there. I think it has been a challenge across the board for, not only the students, but the faculty and staff that have had to work through these moments and rely on the resources that are available. We have some support available through our Human Resources Office to work to support our faculty and staff. On the physical capacity of the campus, the campus is in relatively good shape in terms of the ability to keep people distanced because we have changed the capacity in some of the classrooms to correspond with that three feet of distance requirement between people. When we plan for who will be in a given classroom, when classes will be over and we do not want too many people clustering in the hallways, we may be able to be mindful and planful around those aspects moving forward. I would say the facilities and the ability to keep them clean and to keep the air filtered has worked well and even, in terms of the number of COVID cases that we have experienced here on campus over the past almost two years now, has been very small. I think it has been working and the vaccination requirement, as well as the notion that more people in the community will be vaccinated, will help us tremendously.

What do you hope will reprise itself next semester-- programs and special events-- as we step slightly away from COVID restrictions?

I think one of the main items that I am looking forward to move us back into that mode would be Commencement. At this moment, again, knowing that the pandemic could still spike up and we may have to make adjustments, we are looking to do Commencement face-to-face as we have done in the past going back two years. We are looking at a restoration of that and we are in the process of lining up our Commencement speaker, looking forward to seeing you walk across the stage and receiving your diploma. That is a big item right off the start. I would say some of the other pieces that we are looking at, one being the Autumn Feast today, are coming back. As we get into the spring semester, you will see a heightened level of activity among the student groups and that started this semester as well.

We have committed to maintaining those protocols that enable groups to get together to follow the strategies. Theatre is now back and it is socially distanced, but we have our students coming together to produce the theatre work. We have our Art program going on in the gallery that brings people together. I think as you look at some of the subtle changes that started with the fall semester and that are due to continue, you will see more opportunities to gather the groups together, the people together. In many ways, this helps to alleviate some of those mental health issues [we talked about]. Bigger Boat will continue on, as well as will our Critical Conversations and that is an opportunity. We are bringing together the notion that we still continue to use the internet through Zoom to have forums; people can do the readings on their own; we come together. We have the virtual forums where people can participate. In many ways, it becomes another means to reach out across the broader community to touch the lives of more people

through some of the technologies that we have available, while also enabling face-to-face activities.

In what shape are the science building and enrollment? Are there any other updates that you can share looking to the spring semester?

Enrollment is down by about 7.9% for the spring semester and we did project that we would be down for spring semester because the trendline that we saw across higher education was down. When we look around more broadly across the state and the country, we see some big declines not only in community colleges but also in several of the four-year schools. There are several factors at play; the economy has changed; the job market has changed. There are now many jobs available. The wages have increased and many times substantially, so that now students have more to think about when they are making some of these decisions on what they want to do at a given moment. Do I want to go to work? Do I want to go continue on my education? Many times, it becomes a question of how we balance the two factors here.

We want you to continue to progress and we want you on the trajectory for future success where you are continuing to build your education. We also want to recognize that this is about being able to make a living and earn a decent wage for many people. It becomes a question of how we can do both; how we can balance continuing your education while also working. We have been continuing down this road to meet students where they are. When you think of some of the technologies that we have, that will continue to develop and play out, the HyFlex option is where you can [literally] decide when you are signing up for the class. Do I want to do it face-to-face? Do I want to do it in person? Do I want to do it remotely? That enables, in many instances, more flexibility for our students that may have work commitments, family commitments that they have to figure out how to balance with that education. We recognize the demands on our

students and we are working very diligently to meet those demands. We continue to recognize that students have choices and we want to be there to enable their success. We want to encourage them to continue their education, so we continue to promote those aspects of different platforms from which to choose how to achieve your educational success.

Now on the science building, we are about a third of the way through the construction and we are still on schedule and within budget for completion of the facilities for the fall of 2022. Following that, once it is open, the old building will be removed and the land there that the building sat on will be restored. That will probably run into the spring semester of 2023 and the entire landscape will be finished at that point in time. We are on-schedule; things are looking very good. Our capital fundraising campaign is still underway, so we continue to meet the obligations of our $10 million campaign to pull off completion of this building, but the community has been very supportive. The construction is progressing really well. The weather has been, for the most part, cooperating with us. We are in good shape.

What are your thoughts and hopes around Dr. Kathleen Vranos’ return to 4Cs?

I am delighted that she has chosen to return to Cape Cod Community College in her new role as Vice President. She clearly has the experience, having been in a similar role at another institution and clearly is committed to our students in building a viable educational institution that serves our community well, enabling our students to be successful. She works really well with our faculty and staff. I think it is a tremendous fit. I am looking forward to continuing to work with her.

What is the consensus on the HyFlex program? What of its future? Will 4Cs do away with it altogether? If so, why?

More broadly, one of the silver linings that came out of the pandemic was how it propelled us all, not just Cape Cod Community College, but all of higher education to really embrace technology and the online, the virtual, the hybrid, and the hyflex platforms. Over time, you have seen how we have elevated our understanding, our background, our familiarity with how to use the technology. As this continues to move forward, even as more students return to campus face-to-face, you are going to continue to see a core component of higher education that will always be the virtual, the online world. I think what we will find out with the HyFlex option, especially when we get through some of these socially distant restrictions where we can only have so many people in a classroom, is a moment where week-to-week, a student can decide am I able to be in the classroom face-to-face or am I going to work remotely for that class. All of this is depending on what my work schedule is, where I am and what is going on. You will see increased flexibility, but you will also see an increase in the capability of how we provide that education through the virtual format.

There are some silver linings in the pandemic! The one piece that I always remind people is you are living through a moment in history that is really a part of your education. We are learning a lot about, not only how we educate in terms of what your studying, but how do we work with one another; how do we come together collectively as a society to work through some of these tremendous challenges that, two years ago, I do not think anyone had on their radar or really imagined. Now, we continue to play this out, remaining flexible and sometimes we have to do some major shifts when some of the public health maters do not go the way we had hoped. As we continue to educate people, we monitor the data; we study what is happening in different parts of the world; we learn a little bit more. I think, as a society, we are wiser and we are also, to

a certain extent, better critical thinkers, trying to figure out what is next when we are dealing with these massive challenges.

What is your primary takeaway from the disconcertment, isolation, and losses of COVID-19? 

One of the primary takeaways has been how we remain nimble, so that we can continue to provide a quality education for our students. At the same time, how can we engage our students? How can we continue to draw them in when there are a lot of other pressures with mental health issues where people are challenged with technologies in the home, everyone was in the house and sharing a computer…at the time, stress? How do we manage through these daily activities? I think working with so many students, so many faculty, so many staff, making assurances along the way that we had no lay-offs, no furloughs here. We remained committed to trying to move the community forward through this moment that we did not really know what the outcome was going to be, but we maintained our mission. I think that became a critical piece of defining who we are as a teaching and learning organization and as active players in the community.

What have you learned about yourself and your job while at 4Cs?

No two days are ever the same! Sometimes, it is a good thing to spend time listening to what is going on and learning from the experience of others before making decisions. I would also say it is great to have a community that is sharing a similar mission, similar goals, that are working together to achieve success. I think that is how we got through the pandemic or how we are getting through the pandemic, because we are not completely out of it yet.

What advice do you have for your successor?

Successor! I would say this for anyone contemplating to become a college president-- I have talked this over with people on the way-- this position really gives you the ability to help shape the institution. For those who are so inclined, I think it is a beautiful opportunity. I would encourage more people to consider the opportunities that are out there as we look ahead; there will be more turnover; there are 1,100 community colleges and several four-year universities out there. There are many opportunities out there for people to move up in leadership roles in higher education. I strongly encourage people, if interested, to take a look and pursue it.

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