Students,
We hope this email finds you well and enjoying the final days of summer. We are looking forward to having you back on campus soon. I am sure you have read President Stevens' email, and my updates this morning are intended to help outline exactly what this policy change will mean as students are planning their arrival on campus.
Vaccine Requirement
All students who do not receive a medical or religious exemption from Student Accessibility Services must be fully vaccinated and have submitted their vaccination card to Medicat prior to arriving on campus.
Full vaccination requires fourteen days past a single-dose vaccine, or fourteen days past the second dose of a two-dose vaccine.
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First year students who are fully vaccinated as required and have submitted their vaccination cards via Medicat should plan to arrive on campus as scheduled on August 19. If you are fully vaccinated but did not submit your card, then you must submit it no later than August 15 in order to move in on August 19.
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Returning students who are fully vaccinated as required and have submitted their vaccination cards via Medicat should plan to arrive on campus as scheduled between August 22-24. If you are fully vaccinated but did not submit your card, then you must submit it no later than August 15 in order to move in on August 22-24.
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Students who are already on campus or are planning to arrive to campus prior to August 19 and will not be fully vaccinated must complete the Short-Term Exemption Request and receive email approval to be on campus.
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Students who are not fully vaccinated as required do not have an approved exemption prior to their arrival on campus are not be permitted to return to campus until fully vaccinated and have submitted their vaccination card to Medicat. These students will be required to participate in Welcome Week and classes remotely until they are fully vaccinated and have submitted their vaccine card. Once students have been vaccinated and submitted their vaccine cards, they will be permitted to schedule a rolling arrival day, effective fourteen days after submission of the vaccination cards.
Students who choose not to receive a COVID-19 vaccine, who do not have an approved medical or religious exemption, will be placed on a Personal Leave of Absence.
Students without an approved exemption must be fully vaccinated by September 30, 2021. To accommodate for the vaccine requirement the college will offer hybrid classes with in-person vaccinated students and remote unvaccinated students until Fall Break, Friday, October 15.
The initial deadline (August 1) has passed for students to submit vaccination cards and request medical or religious exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine. Students who have not uploaded their vaccination card should do so immediately via Medicat and avoid a delayed arrival on campus.
Medical and Religious Vaccine Exemptions
Those students still interested in being considered for a medical or religious exemption should e-mail Director of Student Accessibility Services, Melissa Butler, at butlerm@rhodes.edu immediately. Exemptions of this nature may take 7-14 days to review and approve.
Unvaccinated students who have been approved for exemptions to the vaccine requirement will be expected to comply with health and safety protocols to help protect themselves and others. Based on current public health guidance, unvaccinated individuals will need to:
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be tested and determined negative before returning to campus. PCR tests are preferred and recommended. The test results should be dated no more than 7 days prior to arrival on campus. We recognize that access to testing is limited to antigen testing in some locations. We will accept either form of testing. Test results must be uploaded securely through Medicat.
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participate in regular weekly screening PCR testing for COVID-19; please review the Asymptomatic Testing Schedule for testing days and hours. Additionally, the testing location has been moved to West Campus, and more information on the testing location can be found online. Please, plan at least thirty minutes for testing.
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monitor their health and report possible COVID-19 symptoms to the Student Health Center for evaluation;
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cooperate with quarantine, isolation and contact tracing procedures for COVID-19 exposure/infection and after travel; and
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wear a mask that covers their nose and mouth (except when in their residence or outdoors), and maintain distance from others who don't live with them when appropriate.
Action Needed:
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If you have not already done so upload your vaccination card via Medicat, do so immediately.
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If you need to file a medical or religious exemption through Student Accessibility Services, do so immediately with Student Accessibility Services via butlerm@rhodes.edu.
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All students should make arrangements to be tested and determined negative before returning to campus. PCR tests are preferred and recommended. The test results should be dated no more than 7 days prior to arrival on campus. We recognize that access to testing is limited to antigen testing in some locations. We will accept either form of testing. Test results must be uploaded securely through Medicat.
Health & Safety Fee
In accordance with the updated vaccine requirements, the college will not be charging a Health & Safety fee as unvaccinated students without exemptions will not be permitted on campus.
Masking
Masks will be required indoors until further notice. Masks will not be required in residence hall rooms when guests are not present. This commitment to masking will allow us a necessary layer of protection as we come back together this fall. Our hope is that this temporary re-commitment to masking will prevent return to campus spikes that would result in students spending their first weeks on campus in isolation or quarantine. The college recommends following CDC guidance on masking.
Symptomatic Testing
All students regardless of vaccination status will be required to be tested at the college’s COVID-19 Clinic in the event they become symptomatic. Students should follow the Student with Positive Contact protocol.
Fall Move-In and Welcome Week
Move-In Day and Welcome Week schedules and activities are currently under review to ensure we are offering hybrid options and following the most up to date health and safety recommendations for events. We welcome students to bring two vaccinated guests to assist with move in. Please review the move-in day information here, and the Welcome Week schedule here.
Distancing
We will work to distance to the extent possible this fall but doing so will not always be possible. That is why vaccination and masking at the start of the semester will be critical.
Health & Safety Protocols
Please note, the health and safety protocols continue to evolve and could change by the start or throughout Fall Term 2021, depending on the latest public health guidance. The college will update expectations as needed, and students should check their emails regularly for the latest guidance and updates.
Health & Safety Webinar
Thursday, August 12 at 5:00 p.m. CT, we will host a Health & Safety webinar for students and families to review the update in our vaccine requirement and answer questions. Please register for the webinar here.
Questions & Concerns
I will be in touch again next week with specific updates about the Lynx Promise and the Student Conduct Provisional Standards, and student organization meeting and event guidelines.
I hope you are enjoying these final days of summer. If you have not been vaccinated…get vaccinated so that we can welcome you back with all of the festivities and joy that return to campus has to offer. If you have not been masking…mask up. Let’s do everything we can to ensure a healthy, happy and vibrant return to campus this fall.
Be Well,
Meghan Harte Weyant, Ph.D.
Vice President for Student Life