May 19, 2021

Between June 1 and September 1, employees will gradually be invited to return to campus for on-site work. A Support Desk has been established to address any questions and concerns campus staff employees may have about returning to campus. The Support Desk is available now with service Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. - 4 p.m. Contact the desk by phone at 858-246-3570 or by email at hr@ucsd.edu.  

Fall course registration is now open for continuing students. Based on guidance from the UC Office of the President and detailed modeling from our public health experts, we are planning for Fall 2021 teaching to be primarily in-person with normal classroom occupancy. Beginning July 1, academic departments, working with the Registrar, will be able to change classroom requests and/or instruction modality for specific courses as needed. 

For students who receive their vaccination off-campus outside of UC San Diego Health and are fully vaccinated, please submit your vaccination information to be exempted from the university’s weekly testing requirement. To do so, log into your MyStudentChart and send a message to “ASK-A-NURSE" in the Messages tab, including which vaccine you received, and the dates administered. If you have additional questions, contact ucsdtha@ucsd.edu. 

Students were invited to get creative and imagine a new look for campus masks. Following the campus-wide contest, two student designs have been chosen and are now available, as well as a UC San Diego mask with the university logo. Students and employees are invited to pick up one free mask. Click here to see designs and pick up locations.

Answer: On April 22, the UC Office of the President announced a proposed Presidential Policy, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Vaccination Program. Under the proposed policy, the University would require students, faculty, academic appointees, and staff who are accessing campus facilities at any UC location beginning this fall to be immunized against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Those with questions or comments are encouraged to submit them to CovidVaccinePolicyComments@ucop.edu no later than May 31, 2021. After the 30-day comment period, additional information will be announced.

Answer: UC San Diego will accept WHO-approved vaccines. Additionally, we will make “booster” shots available to any students who may have received vaccines that are not as efficacious or that do not protect against strains circulating in the fall. There are no known negative health risks to additional vaccinations. We anticipate that, in fact, booster shots will be required for all vaccines as immunity wanes and as the virus evolves.

Question: How will a course’s format be determined for Fall 2021?

Answer: When Fall 2021 course registration opens, course offerings will be primarily listed as in-person, with the exception of R courses. Beginning July 1, 2021, academic departments, working with the Registrar, will be able to change classroom requests and/or instruction modality for specific courses, as needed to support students impacted by visa or travel restrictions, handle any county/state/CDC restrictions on classroom occupancy, and accommodate specific faculty needs. Please refer to the April 5 campus notice for additional details.