Dear Faculty and Staff,
We are looking forward to welcoming all of you back to campus in a few weeks to kick off the fall term in person. I write to provide an update on our COVID-19 campus safety policies.
Earlier in the summer, we communicated with you about Mercy’s vaccination and mask policies. If you haven’t submitted your vaccination status yet we encourage you do so at this link. We also shared these policies with students, who are required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine if they plan to attend in-person courses.
As we continue to make progress on collecting students’ vaccination statuses before the August 15 submission deadline, we recognize that achieving our goal of 100% compliance by the start of the fall term is going to be an enormous challenge. Indeed, every year a small number of students report for classes without having completed other required vaccinations. In those instances, we reach out early in the term to help them access the vaccines that they need. We anticipate that we will have some number of individuals who have not yet received the COVID-19 vaccine coming to campus this fall, and we are implementing practices designed specifically to address this likely scenario. Those students – and their classmates with approved medical and religious exemptions – will be subject to additional requirements, including regular COVID-19 testing.
Masks will be required in classrooms and we anticipate a majority of our population being vaccinated before the first day of classes, which will allow us to safely return to regular capacity in our classrooms. The College is confident that we can work with our students to efficiently update their vaccination information without disrupting their education, adjusting course modalities, or having to drop large numbers of them from their classes.
To further facilitate these efforts, our Marketing and Student Life teams have developed a digital marketing campaign to encourage all students to get vaccinated and submit their proof. This campaign will run for the next six weeks and includes social media, direct outreach and incentive programs that will help us collect vaccination information. Visit our website for more information.
We continue to work diligently with the College’s COVID Task Force as well as College and Faculty leadership to craft plans for the fall that will enable us to achieve the dual goals of protecting the health and safety of our community and allowing our students to continue their educations in person.
Lastly, let me say that as an institution of higher education, we play an important role in educating our community about the promise of the vaccine in keeping ourselves and our loved ones healthy. Students may reach out to you with questions, and I encourage you to help them understand the benefits and effectiveness of the vaccine and to debunk some of the myths that are causing hesitancy or fear for some.
Please join us for a Town Hall on Thursday, August 5 from 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon where we will discuss the return to fall plan and answer your questions. To join the webinar, please use the link: https://mercy.zoom.us/j/96674810781?pwd=Yy9lQUsyWm5tQ08rNVZoTnNRV2pDUT09, Passcode: 812382 or Dial in at: (646) 558- 8656.
Thank you again for your continued cooperation and support. I am looking forward to a great fall term ahead.
Sincerely,
Tim Hall
President