Greetings:
We are enjoying seeing and visiting with the Summer School students, student researchers and others who are on campus this month. If you are not on campus, we hope you are having a productive and enjoyable summer and are as eager to get back to campus as we are to have you here.
The staff in the Division of Campus Life and Student Development is busy preparing for the fall semester and a return to our traditional move-in day and in-person Orientation activities. As part of that process, the Wofford Wellness Center staff has been reviewing and updating the health and safety protocols for the fall. The college still intends to require all students to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 before returning to campus, pending full regulatory approval by the FDA. That approval may not come before the college’s preferred July 30 deadline, but we ask students to get vaccinated and upload their results or their exemptions so the college will have time to determine under which guidelines we will operate for the fall semester based on the percentage of students who are vaccinated. Vaccination of a significant percentage of our student body remains the safest and most reliable way to return to the pre-pandemic social events and gatherings that we all love about Wofford.
If you’ve gotten the COVID-19 vaccine or are in the process of getting one of the vaccines, please upload proof of your full vaccination as soon as possible via the UPLOAD tab on the Wellness Center’s Patient Portal at my.Wofford.edu. Students who have uploaded proof of vaccination for COVID-19 by 5 p.m., July 30 will be eligible for cash prizes.
As an incentive for students to upload their vaccine documentation into their Wellness Portal, the medical staff (due to HIPPA regulations) will be conducting 25 drawings during August and throughout the fall semester. The sooner you upload your vaccine, the more chances you have to win! Students whose names are drawn from those vaccinated will receive a $1,000 cash prize. The lucky winners can use that money to pay their Wofford bill or save it to pay for an Interim or spring break trip. In December 2021, the college will have a drawing for a $5,000 cash prize. If you would like to opt out of the drawings, please notify the Wellness Center staff at thewellnesscenter@wofford.edu.
If you’re still concerned about the COVID-19 vaccines, please read the following factual information about the vaccines.
- https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/fully-vaccinated-people.html
- https://www.isglobal.org/en/covid-19-novedades-cientificas
- https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/covid-19-vaccines/advice
Once the COVID-19 vaccines have been fully approved by the FDA, Wofford will add the COVID-19 vaccine to the list of required vaccinations. Students who choose to forego vaccination for COVID-19 must complete and submit a medical or religious exemption form. These must also be uploaded to the Wellness Center Patient Portal at my.Wofford.edu. In addition, students who choose not to get vaccinated must read and sign the Waiver of Immunization Against COVID-19. Regardless of federal approval of the COVID-19 vaccine by the start of the fall semester, all unvaccinated students will be required to:
- Undergo weekly COVID-19 surveillance testing on campus (for as long as the testing is offered) or off campus at your own expense.
- Upload the results of the weekly test by 11 a.m. each Friday morning to the Wellness Center patient portal.
- Quarantine or isolate off campus at your own expense should you be identified as a close contact or contract COVID-19.
- Follow other community safety guidelines determined by the college, which will be communicated to students in August.
Unvaccinated students who do not comply with these four requirements may be subject to sanctions. Sanctions may include health and safety education, social probation and, ultimately, suspension.
Remember that all classes will be taught in person. There will be no hybrid or virtual options. If you are unvaccinated and must quarantine or isolate due to COVID- 19, you will be responsible for your academic coursework.
Finally, the academic calendar for the Fall 2021 semester is online at
www.wofford.edu/academics/registrar/calendars-and-schedules/academic-calendar-ny. Classes begin at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021.
Please email me at DeanofStudents@wofford.edu if you have any questions.
Go Terriers!
All the best,
Roberta L. Hurley
Dean of Students
Vice President
Division of Campus Life and Student Development