To the Campus Community,
As we look to begin the spring semester, we ask that all of us—students, faculty, and staff—continue to work together to help make this a safe and successful academic term. We may continue to see new variants and seasonal surges as we move forward, which require us to remain cautious but also adapt our strategies to align with recommendations of leading health organizations as COVID-19 evolves from pandemic to endemic.
Following is a checklist of precautions, protocols, and suggestions everyone should review and follow when preparing to start the semester on Monday, January 24.
Vaccination and Boosters
- All students living, learning, and/or working on campus are required to be vaccinated and receive a COVID-19 booster shot by February 1. Upload your vaccination and booster records at My Health Beacon Portal. Students failing to have gotten vaccinated by January 14 will be dropped from face to face classes. Failure to show proof of a booster shot will result in a registration hold being placed on your WISER account.
- All faculty and staff are required to be vaccinated and receive a COVID-19 booster shot by February 15 or two weeks after eligibility. Upload your vaccine booster card to the Service Now Portal.
- University Health Services (UHS) frequently holds free booster and flu shot clinics. Check your email for dates and times. To schedule a visit, call 617-287-4355.
- Only those who have been granted a religious or medical exemption are excused from these requirements.
Testing
- The university strongly recommends everyone get tested before returning to campus. Free PCR tests are available at UHS this week, early next week, and on an ongoing basis. To schedule a visit, call 617-287-4355. Students can also schedule a visit via the My Health Beacon Portal.
- If available to you, you can also use an at-home antigen test. While they won’t arrive in time for the start of school, free antigen tests are now available via the U.S. Postal Service at: COVID Home Tests | USPS. Signing up takes less than a minute.
- Please report your test results prior to the start of school: If positive use the positive test form or contact UHS; if negative, use the negative test form.
- The university will continue its program of rigorous surveillance testing by requiring weekly COVID surveillance testing at UHS for certain higher risk populations: the few individuals who are unvaccinated or partially vaccinated, student athletes and coaches, students in performing arts classes, students and staff living in the residence halls, and for students who are booster-eligible but have not yet received the booster shot. If you fall in one of these categories, please schedule a recurring weekly appointment with UHS.
Face Coverings, Etc.
- The university will continue its mandate that all people wear face coverings in buildings on campus. We strongly recommend KN95-type masks and other multi-layer filtered masks, which offer more protection against COVID-19 particles than cloth masks. Surgical masks will be available at various campus locations.
- The university also encourages people to double mask for added protection.
- Remember to complete a daily self checklist before coming to campus. If you are feeling sick or have any COVID-19 related symptoms, please stay home and get tested.
- More detailed information is available on our coronavirus website.
Thank you all for sharing in the responsibility to help keep our campus safe.
Sincerely,
Marie Bowen, Vice Chancellor for Human Resources
Robert Pomales, Executive Director, University Health Services
