Illinois colleges split on mandating vaccinations in the fall
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[May 22, 2021]
By Kevin Bessler
(The Center Square) – After a tumultuous
year caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois colleges are weighing
whether to require students to be vaccinated for the fall semester.
The picture should become clearer as the semester nears, especially if
the COVID-19 vaccines are granted full FDA approval.
Several 4-year colleges have already announced that all returning
students to campus would be required to be vaccinated, including DePaul
University, Loyola University and Northwestern University.
At Northwestern, faculty, staff and visitors will not be required to get
the vaccine, Provost Kathleen Hagerty announced in a community email.
The email states students who cannot provide proof of their vaccination
status may not be eligible to register for fall classes.
At Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Matt Streb, chief of staff to
the president, said the school will not be requiring vaccinations for
the fall semester.
“The university is strongly encouraging and recommending that all of our
students and employees get vaccinated,” Streb said. “At this point, we
are not mandating it, but if you are not vaccinated you will be put into
our weekly surveillance testing.”
Streb said NIU will be using the SHIELD test developed at the University
of Illinois, with results available within 24 hours.
The College of DuPage and College of Lake County have both released
statements saying they will not require vaccines.
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For now, the University of Illinois is not mandating that students get
the vaccine. Chancellor Robert Jones told faculty members this spring
that decisions about vaccine requirements will be made by the Illinois
Department of Public Health.
Rachel Hatch, spokesperson at Illinois State University in Normal, said
no decision has been made about whether vaccinations will be required
for students in the fall.
“The university will follow guidelines from the Illinois Department of
Public Health and the governor’s office,” said Hatch in a statement.
Southern Illinois University in Carbondale is also holding off on a
decision.
“We still in the process of gathering information about vaccinations and
testing. We will have more information available at a later time,” SIU
spokesperson Kim Rendfeld said in a statement.
With many colleges taking a wait-and-see approach to vaccine mandates,
it could be difficult for new and returning students to know what to
expect. In addition to checking with their individual colleges for their
respective policies, students can find a list of colleges mandating
vaccinations via the Chronicle of Higher Education.
Streb is hopeful the fall semester will be a return to normalcy.
“We are reaching the end of the pandemic although we have a little ways
to go, but we’re certainly looking forward to having what looks like a
more normal fall than certainly what we saw last fall,” said Streb. |