Students who do not comply with the vaccine mandate by today, Oct. 6, will be withdrawn from their classes, according to separate emails sent to unvaccinated students today and all faculty members on Tuesday, Oct. 5.
In an email sent to unvaccinated students today from the Division of Student Affairs, students who do not comply with vaccination requirements were told they “will be withdrawn from [their] in-person classes.”
Faculty received an email prior to students with a message from the Provost and the attached letter from Student Affairs that unvaccinated students would be receiving on Oct. 6. A member of faculty shared this email to an E-Board member of the Torch. The message from the Provost stated:
“The attached communication has been sent to students who have not complied with the University’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate. On Wednesday, October 6, 2021 students who remain out of compliance will be withdrawn from their in-person class(es). Please check your UIS roster and only allow currently enrolled students to attend your class. If a student was withdrawn from your class due to non-compliance, you will receive an email from your dean’s office with the name of any affected student(s).”
The faculty member shared this information to ensure students vaccination information was uploaded correctly thus not facing removal from the course.
The Torch has reached out to a University spokesman for comment and to see how many unvaccinated students are impacted by this email.
A prorated refund for the classes they are withdrawn from will be issued, according to the email. It also states that these unvaccinated students should not contact Health Services, as they are “focused on attending to students who are ill.”
Some unvaccinated students have gone to their professors requesting remote access to in-person classes, according to the email that was sent to all faculty members “on behalf of the Provost” by the Deans. The email states that these professors “are not under any obligation to grant this request.”
Additionally, the email to faculty states that if the reason for the request is due to not being vaccinated, it “will not be a successful strategy, as students who are not compliant with the vaccine policy are identified in UIS and will be dropped at a future date in the fall semester.”
Faculty was told to check their UIS roster and only allow enrolled students to attend the course going forward. Faculty will receive names from the Dean’s office of any affected students, according to the email sent to faculty.
The faculty email also reminds students and professors that masks are required in all University buildings and must fully cover the mouth and nose. If a student is not wearing a mask, they can report it to the University by following the Compliance with Public Health Guidelines.
According to the faculty email, some professors have asked about whether they are required to wear masks while at their podiums. The University plans to re-examine the mask policy in the next few weeks, but “have decided at this time to reaffirm the mask mandate until [their] records reflect full compliance with the vaccine,” according to the email.
