June 14, 2021
Hartnell College employees are now using an online app to self-screen for possible COVID-19 exposure before coming to work, and this week the tool will be shared with students — along with a prize drawing to promote its use.
Adoption of the screening tool, effective June 14, is one of many steps Hartnell is taking to restore in-person instruction and services despite a lingering coronavirus threat. Other safety measures include requiring use of masks indoors, social distancing and limits on the number of students in a class.
“This service is part of our wide-ranging effort to make our campuses as safe as possible as we continue to focus on student learning and success,” said Dr. Raúl Rodríguez, interim superintendent/president.
Hartnell is offering 25% of its classes in-person during the summer term, which started June 7, and is aiming for 75% this fall, with all remaining classes delivered online.
The self-screening process starts with an email sent to Hartnell community members inviting them to register for the app, called Titan HST, which is accessible from mobile phones or any computer via the internet.
That notice is expected to go out to students on June 15, and those who sign up right away will be entered into a drawing for gift cards usable for on-campus food service or at the Hartnell bookstore.
Once participants register, they receive a daily email reminder to answer five yes-or-no coronavirus screening questions, such as “Do you have a fever?” and “Have you been around anyone with COVID-19 in the last 14 days?”
Users who answers “no” to all the screening questions receive a green “PASS” notification via their smartphone or email. If they answer “yes” to any question, they receive a red “FAILED” notification, telling them not to come on campus and instead contact their supervisor or teacher for guidance.
The Titan system’s geo-location feature also notifies users and the college if they bring their phone onto any Hartnell campus without first completing the online health questionnaire, so campus safety staff can follow up. This includes both the Main and Alisal campuses in Salinas and the education centers in Soledad and King City.
The app’s vendor, Titan Health & Security Technologies, provides Hartnell with data on who is using the system and their screening responses. This information could later help the college determine who might have been exposed to an employee or student infected with COVID-19.
The online service will cost $2,020 for its first year, with opportunity to renew, and is being paid for with federal CARES Act funds available for pandemic response. Other schools in the California Community Colleges System also are using the app.
Dr. Steven Crow, Hartnell’s vice president of administrative services, said the Titan app offers widespread self-screening without creating a bottleneck of in-person health checks.
“As California fully opens up, we wanted to provide a screening tool that was highly effective, allowing us to reassure members of our campus community, and also had minimum impact on the free flow of our employees and students,” Dr. Crow said.