LLCC will hold two virtual information sessions for MacMurray College students next week.

The virtual sessions will be held Wednesday, April 8 from 2-3 p.m. at https://zoom.us/j/901051803 and Thursday, April 9 from 7-8 p.m. at https://zoom.us/j/301465826. No pre-registration is necessary.

Led by Keri Mason, director of LLCC-Jacksonville, the sessions will include an introduction/overview of LLCC and information on programs, degrees and certificates, costs, financial aid and scholarships. MacMurray students may ask questions and schedule appointments for individual meetings. LLCC success coaches, financial aid staff and a representative of the LLCC nursing program will also participate.

LLCC is offering in-district tuition rates to MacMurray students of $131.50 per credit hour for summer term and $133.00 per credit hour for the fall semester, regardless of their home addresses. (Some LLCC programs have variable tuition rates.)

LLCC has a special webpage with information for MacMurray students at www.llcc.edu/mac2llcc. Students may also email Mac2LLCC@llcc.edu, call 217-786-9600 or text 217-387-3342 for more information.

Faculty and staff — If students need internet access or do not have enough data, please share the following resources:

• Xfinity Hotspots and Comcast: Find an Xfinity hotspot for free Wi-Fi if you don’t have it available at home. Comcast is providing unlimited data to its customers for no extra charge and is not disconnecting internet service or charging late fees for customers who say they can’t pay their bills. The company is also is offering Internet Essentials packages to new customers. Customers will receive two free months of Internet service, which is available to all qualified low-income households for $9.95/month plus tax. Apply by April 30, 2020. No long term commitment is required. — https://comca.st/2WmP8AY
• T-Mobile: The mobile phone service provider is providing unlimited data to all current customers who have plans with data for the next 60 days. It will also provide additional data to mobile hotspot users. — https://t-mo.co/2QmPd3O
• AT&T: Like Comcast, AT&T is also providing free access to its public Wi-Fi hot spots. The company also said its consumer home internet wireline customers and fixed wireless internet customers would receive unlimited data. — https://soc.att.com/2QosvbI
• Charter Communications: The telecommunications company is providing free Spectrum broadband and Wi-Fi internet for the next 60 days to households with K-12 students or college students who don’t already have a subscription. Like Comcast and AT&T, it’s also offering its Wi-Fi hot spots for free to the public. — http://bit.ly/2U0mfcp
• Sprint: Providing unlimited data for 60 days to customers with metered data plans (effective 3/18). Giving 20 GB of free mobile hotspot to customers with hotspot-capable devices (effective 3/18). Offering complimentary rates from the U.S. to CDC-defined Level 3 countries to customers with international long-distance plans (effective 3/17) — https://sprint.co/33v25dQ
• In Cass County: Free Wi-Fi is available to use from the parking lot at LLCC-Beardstown, 109 White Pine Lane.
• In Morgan County: Free Wi-Fi is available downtown through Jacksonville Main Street.

These and other helpful resources are available for students at www.llcc.edu/student-support-resources.

As a reminder, it’s a good idea to regularly review messages in your Junk Email folder in Outlook to make sure you are not missing out on important communications. Check the folder for legitimate messages that may have been classified as junk. If you find a message that isn’t junk, you can drag it back to the Inbox or other folder.

I just wanted to share how the LLCC Child Development Center staff has made the seemingly impossible be such a positive experience for our families.

These teachers and assistants have done such positive things to keep our children and families stay engaged virtually through the COVID-19 outbreak. They have been doing things like holding remote circle time through Zoom, uploading play lists of children’s favorite songs for families, reading stories to the children via YouTube, using Padlet to allow families to post pictures of their children for the other families to see, posting recipes and even including a daily post from our guinea pig, Patches! The ingenuity of the LLCC Child Development Center staff when presented with a challenge that they have never before experienced is to be commended!

On top of all of that, they are spending their days learning through a variety of professional development opportunities to make our center even stronger when we return.

I could not be prouder of this group and how they have created positive, virtual ways to engage our children and families!

– Laurie Rhodes, director, Child Development Center

As LLCC operates a virtual campus, please remind students that we are still here to help them succeed. To help them do so, important information has been compiled about what they need to know during this time on www.llcc.edu/covid-19-college-update under the Information for Students section. It includes FAQs as well as information on remote learning, how services can be accessed remotely and community resources.

A central reference is now available on the LLCC website with college information related to COVID-19 for students, employees, prospective students and the community: www.llcc.edu/covid-19-college-update. Please reference this page for the latest updates.