COVID-19 Resources
GCCCD is committed to the health and well-being of our staff and students. This website
is intended to be a one-stop shop for information related to COVID-19 and the GCCCD
Repopulation Plan.
The District continues to monitor state and county directives, protocols, and procedures,
and will adjust our plans accordingly. Please check back here regularly for the latest
updates.
For employees
Masking continues to be recommended (but not required) for all employees and students, including unvaccinated employees, in all District spaces, including student learning spaces. Note that this change assumes that there is no significant change in the public health situation in the county.
*Surgical and N95 masks are available to all employees.
COVID-19 Exposure and Isolation Requirements
*Employees should follow the requirements below if they test positive for COVID-19 or become exposed to someone with COVID-19.
*Employees should continue to review the COVID-19 Daily Checklist. Those who become symptomatic are still required to depart campus immediately. It is imperative to recognize the symptoms of COVID-19 and report this information to Human Resources.
Please contact Francys Ropohl in Human Resources if you are experiencing COVID-19 related symptoms or test positive.
For employees who test POSITIVE for COVID-19
- Everyone (regardless of vaccination status) who tests positive for COVID-19 will stay home for at least 5 calendar days after the start of symptoms or after the date of the first positive test if no symptoms are present.
- You may return to work after day 5 if symptoms are improving AND a negative COVID-19 test is submitted to HR.
- If you are unable to test, or test positive on day 5 (or later), quarantine will end and you may return to work after day 10 as long as you are fever-free for 24 hours.
For employees EXPOSED to COVID-19 (on or off campus):
- Everyone (regardless of vaccination status) who is exposed to someone with COVID-19 will remain at work. No quarantine is required but you should test 3-5 days after the last exposure.
- A well-fitting mask should be worn around others for a total of 10 days, especially in indoor settings and when near those at higher risk for severe COVID-19 disease.
- If symptoms develop, test and stay home. If a test result is positive, follow isolation requirements.
For students
Beginning Fall 2022, students are no longer required to be vaccinated. The District strongly encourages everyone to fully vaccinate for their own protection and the protection of others. Beginning December 19, 2022, all students are encouraged to continue masking at their discretion.
Masks in a classroom or student-support area (i.e. counseling, financial aid, etc.), other areas and outdoors are not required, but are strongly encouraged where social distancing is not possible.
If a student has been exposed to COVID-19, they should complete the following instructions:
- If the student is not presenting symptoms of COVID-19, they do not need to quarantine.
- The student should get tested for COVID-19 within 3-5 days of the last exposure. Testing materials can be found on Cuyamaca’s campus at the Cuyamaca Health and Wellness Center, Campus and Parking Safety, and the Administration building. Grossmont College offers at-home tests at the Campus Health Center, District Human Resources, the Office of the President, and Campus and Parking Safety. Additional testing sites can be found around the county.
- If a student has been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19, they should wear a well-fitting mask around others for 10 days and monitor their symptoms.
- If the student tests positive and develops symptoms, isolation should occur. Please
contact the Grossmont College Health and Wellness Center at (619) 644-7192 or health@gcccd.edu or the Cuyamaca College Health and Wellness Center at (619)660-4200 or cuyamaca.wellness@gcccd.edu for further information and instructions.
COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave (SB 152)
COVID-19 Supplemental Paid Sick Leave expired as of December 31, 2022.
Employee Vaccination Documentation
All employees of the Grossmont-Cuyamaca Community College District are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have an approved exemption.
If you are fully vaccinated against COVID-19, but have not provided documentation, you must submit:
- A form stating you are fully vaccinated
- The date of your most recent vaccination dose
- A copy of your vaccination record card, State of California SMART Health Card showing your vaccination record, email confirmation of vaccination, or other documentation showing you have been fully vaccinated
- Authorization for the District to use information about your vaccination status for employment-related reasons.
Directions on how to upload vaccination into Workday are available here.
Vaccine Exemptions and Accommodations
Some students and employees submitted religious or medical COVID-19 vaccine exemption requests. Human Resources and Health and Safety specialists reviewed the requests.
The District then looked at approved exemptions to determine if unvaccinated individuals could be safely accommodated on campus. Many details were reviewed and considered before making final accommodation decisions. Factors considered included locations and functions of a position and amounts of direct contact with others. We are constantly monitoring the public health situation.
Out of the District’s 2,417 active District employees, just 88 submitted exemption requests. All exemptions were granted. About two thirds (2/3) of accommodations were ether approved or the situations resolved themselves (i.e. the employee got vaccinated). One third (1/3) of accommodations were denied.
Some exempted students were accommodated by continuing on-campus studies, depending on the discipline, while others were accommodated through online classes. Some exempted employees were accommodated depending on the details and requirements of their job, and others were accommodated by using leave time. All accommodated individuals must wear a mask and test while on campus.
More information is available on the Cuyamaca and Grossmont college campus’ Safe Return to Campus webpages. Cuyamaca | Grossmont
For information on accessing online services, visit Grossmont Student Support and Cuyamaca Student Support.
Documents:
Videos:
Webinar Series:
- All About Leaves - May 28, 2021
- Personal Well Being - June 4, 2021
- Directional Guidance - June 10, 2021
- COVID-19 Cleaning and Sanitation - June 17, 2021
- COVID-19 Prevention Plan - January 1, 2022
- Personal Well Being: Emphasis on Maintaining Peace of Mind - July 1, 2021
Q&A Videos
General
- Can I send my employee home if they seem sick?
- Can I ask my employee if they have COVID?
- What do I do if an employee reports they tested positive for COVID or were around someone that had COVID or another similar incident?
- What if I have an employee who is anxious or reluctant to return to work but (to my knowledge) has no medical or child care restrictions that would prevent them from returning, what do I do?
- My employee came to me because someone else is not wearing a face covering, what do I do? What if an employee refuses to wear a face covering? What if an employee’s face covering is offensive?
- What do I do if an employee has a medical condition which requires them to wear an alternative face covering? What are the alternative options?
- What if my employee doesn’t have a thermometer at home?
Workspace
- When should I consider implementing staggered work schedules?
- What are considered group meetings?
- If break rooms aren’t available, where else can employees take their break?
- Who is reconfiguring workspaces? Do I need to be doing something to prepare? What if an employee is not comfortable with their new space?
- Do I have to monitor that each team member clean their workspace? Who should clean the shared workstations and office equipment and how regularly?
- Are water coolers going to be available?
High Risk Employees
- What information should I collect if an employee shares that they are part of a high-risk medical group or over the age of 65?
- I know one of my employees has diabetes but isn’t asking for a medical leave or accommodations, what should I do?
- One of my employees is concerned about another employee who is over 65 and coming to work everyday. They constantly express their concern to me, the senior employee and other coworkers, what do I do?
Child Care Challenges
- What information should I collect if an employee expresses child care challenges?
- One of my employees has teenage children and asked for leave to be able to take care of them, another employee doesn’t mind their kids being home alone and is coming to work everyday. That doesn’t seem fair, what should I do?
- An employees has asked that they receive an earlier shift so they can pick up their kids from their new child care set-up. In the past, they didn’t have this schedule restriction, what do I do?
Documents:
The Employee Assistance Program is available to provide information and referrals on a variety of personal needs, including:
- Referrals to adult/elder and child/parenting support services, in addition to non-medical support with chronic conditions
- Referrals for household services, shopping, entertainment, health and wellness and other personal services (dog walkers, tailors, translators)
To reach the service provider, OptumHealth, call 1-888-625-4809 or visit www.liveandworkwell.com. For more information, visit this District Human Resources Benefits Intranet page.
Employee training materials related to COVID-19 are available on the District’s Human Resources COVID-19 Resources Intranet page. Information covers the COVID-19 Daily checklist, Cal/OSHA requirements, and personal well-being. Among the helpful resources are a presentation (Webinar and PDF slides) on maintaining peace of mind during challenging times.
If you or someone you know is experiencing a suicidal or mental health crisis, please call the San Diego Access & Crisis Line 7 days a week, 24 hours a day at 888-724-7240. Online chat services are also available Monday through Friday, 4 to 10 p.m.