Dear Students,
As we announced in March, Seattle University’s plan for the fall academic term is to return to a primarily in-person mode for both instruction and the student experience, with planning for the 2021-2022 academic year underway. A key component to opening safely and returning to in-person consistent with public health guidelines is the requirement that all SU students—undergraduate, graduate and professional—be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 and report it to the university prior to arriving on campus in the fall. Additional details will be provided in the coming weeks, but students will be required to register their vaccination status once completed.
The increasing availability of COVID-19 vaccines is reassuring and critical to our plans for a safe opening of campus. We are grateful to the many students, faculty and staff who have already received their vaccinations and voluntarily registered their status at Safe Start Health Check, which helps us plan and protect our campus community. This Thursday, April 15, all Washingtonians over the age of 16 will be eligible for vaccinations and beginning May 1, all individuals 16 and older in the U.S. will be eligible. There are opportunities to pre-register now for your vaccine appointment. We strongly encourage you to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
While SU’s COVID vaccine policy is new, the university already requires students be immunized for measles prior to attending and recommends a number of other vaccines as well. Please know that we will work with international students and others who are unable to be vaccinated before arriving in fall to help them meet the university’s requirement. As with other immunizations, students with documented medical or religious exemptions will be accommodated and not required to receive the vaccine.
We will continue to update you on the university’s planning for the fall, which continues to be grounded in the latest public health guidance. In the meantime, thank you for doing your part to keep our campus community healthy and safe.
Sincerely,
Stephen V. Sundborg, S.J.
President
Shane P. Martin
Provost and Opening Task Force Co-Chair
Timothy P. Leary
Executive Vice President and Opening Task Force Co-Chair
Alvin Sturdivant
Vice President for Student Development