To Our Campus Community:
In November, the University of Missouri Board of Curators approved a resolution that the UM System would comply with Executive Order 14042, the federal vaccine mandate for federal contractors. Here’s the process UMKC has put in place to implement the mandate so our employees can be fully vaccinated by the deadline.
Who is affected by the requirement?
This policy applies to all full-time and part-time employees of the university, including graduate assistants and student employees. This policy does not require vaccination for students who are not employees of the university.
Employees must either provide documentation of having received necessary vaccine shots or must have an approved exemption on record.
The current deadline for employees to receive vaccine shots is Jan. 4, in order to be considered fully vaccinated by Jan. 18. That means individuals should have received the second shot of a Pfizer or Moderna vaccine or the single shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine by Jan. 4.
If you have already been vaccinated and have not uploaded your proof of vaccination via the ‘COVID Upload’ webpage in myHR, please do so as soon as possible. Student employees who have previously provided proof of vaccination to their program will need to submit through myHR at this time.
Alternatively, if you do not wish to directly upload your COVID-19 vaccination record, you may bring your record to the Office of Human Resources in the Administrative Center to receive a signed verification certificate. Please email umkchr@umkc.edu to schedule an appointment. You must then upload your certificate through myHR by Jan. 18.
Requesting an exemption?
Exemptions will be given to employees who decline vaccination due to a sincerely held religious belief or a verified medical reason.
Exemptions may also be given to employees whom the university confirms will have no interaction with employees who work in connection with federal contracts, including no possibility of contact in parking garages, elevators, or other common areas.
To request an exemption, log in to myHR as soon as possible. The ‘COVID Upload’ webpage has a section titled ‘Request COVID Exemption’ on the left panel with further instructions.
Where can I get vaccinated?
If you have not yet received a vaccination, the coming weeks allow time to do so.
Vaccines are widely available at drugstores, hospitals, clinics and other sites throughout our community, and we continue to offer vaccinations to members of our campus community through our partners at University Health. Information on walk-in vaccination availability can be found here.
In addition, we will conduct a walk-in vaccination clinic at the Student Union from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 7.
Attend training to learn more
To learn more about the vaccine mandate and the process to request exemptions, faculty, staff and student workers are encouraged to attend a webinar provided by the UM System the week of Dec. 13. Registration links can be found here. A recording of the employee webinar will be available in Percipio for later viewing.
A copy of the full policy is available here as well as a Q&A with answers to some common questions.
We will continue to monitor this evolving situation. As the Curators’ resolution indicates, all or part of the mandate could be adjusted or rescinded due to changes in federal rules or court actions.
The spirit of cooperation and mutual respect that has prevailed at UMKC since this pandemic began has been key to keeping our on-campus infection rates low. We deeply appreciate everyone’s commitment to our mission.
In this together,
C. Mauli Agrawal, Ph.D.
Chancellor
Jennifer D. Lundgren, Ph.D.
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor
