Fall 2021 Reopening News
We are ready – and excited – to welcome everyone to campus in the coming days! We wanted to provide a few updates about the start of the semester.
VACCINATIONS
While we have seen great progress in our vaccination rate, we will remind you that ALL members of the community are expected to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by the start of the semester (August 28 for residential students and all staff and faculty; September 1 for all commuting students). Please take a photo of your official vaccination card and email it to sheryl.max@montserrat.edu. Please find here a student exemption form and faculty and staff exemption form.
As a reminder, there are many factors in a person’s life which influence the choices that they make. We do expect that there will be a few members of our community who complete the necessary exemption form and remain unvaccinated. It is our expectation that everyone will be treated with respect.
TESTING
After further evaluation and consultation, we have decided against pool testing (as previously announced) this year and we will continue with individual PCR testing….same as we did last year.
ALL community members will be tested ON-CAMPUS upon arrival. We will not be accepting any tests from outside agencies. The testing schedule is as follows (any changes to the schedule will be sent via email):
ON-BOARDING TESTING:
August 26:
Faculty and staff testing
9am – 9:45am, 12noon – 1:45pm and 3pm- 4pm
Check-in at Checkerboard
August 27:
Faculty, staff and commuters
10am – 2pm
Check-in at Checkerboard
August 28:
First year residents based on approved move-in appointment and new commuter students
8am – 12:30pm
Check-in at Checkerboard
August 29:
Returning residents, based on approved move-in appointment
9:45am – 4:30pm
Check-in at Checkerboard
August 30:
Returning residents, based on approved move-in appointment and commuter students
9am – 4pm
Check-in at Checkerboard
August 31:
Returning residents, based on approved move-in appointment and commuter students
9am – 4pm
Check-in at Checkerboard
September 1:
Commuter students, faculty and staff
10am – 11am, 12:30pm – 4pm
Check-in at Health Office
September 2:
Anyone still needing to have onboarding testing
10am – 2pm
Check-in at Health Office
Any student who does not participate in the required testing as explained above will face disciplinary action (warning and then fines with additional sanctions possible). Employees who fail to participate in onboarding testing will need to meet with their manager and get a test on their own.
Anyone who is not fully vaccinated must participate in weekly COVID testing. For those who are scheduled for their second COVID vaccine dose in the coming weeks, you will be required to test weekly until your completed vaccination documentation is received by the health office and you are two weeks out from your final dose.
There is no need for fully vaccinated community members to quarantine following onboarding testing. Unvaccinated community members, however, must quarantine until a negative PCR test result is confirmed.
WEEKLY TESTING for unvaccinated community members (students, faculty and staff) will be communicated directly to those impacted.
SURVEILLANCE TESTING will occur bi-weekly, at least through October, for all resident students and will be available ONLY to those community members designated in the ‘high risk’ category – those with ‘high contact hours’ with resident students and individuals with limited contact hours with residential students who have medically defined risk factors for severe COVID illness.
SURVEILLANCE TESTING will take place on the following days. Specific times will be announced the week before the testing, via email.
September 13th and 14th
September 28th and 29th
October 12th and 13th
October 26th and 27th
CONTACT TRACING
If you are contacted by anyone associated with Contract Tracing, you must respond and cooperate with contact tracing efforts.
SYMPTOM CHECKING
Everyone must use the Campus Clear app any day that they are on campus. You can find the free app here:
Links for mobile apps:
* Apple AppStore: https://apps.apple.com/app/campusclear/id1516163872
* Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.campusclear
* Web app: https://ivy.ai/app/campusclear
Anyone who experiences any of the following symptoms should remain at home and contact COVID-19@montserrat.edu for instructions:
- Fever above 100 degrees F and/or chills or feeling hot (if no thermometer available)
- Sore throat
- New cough not related to chronic condition
- Runny/stuffy nose/nasal congestion (not related to allergies or relieved by antihistamines)
- Difficulty breathing, shortness of breath
- Diarrhea with or without respiratory symptoms
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Headache unrelated to chronic condition
- Fatigue
- Muscle aches
- Loss of sense of taste or smell
Symptomatic students will be tested as needed. Symptomatic employees will be referred to their own PCP or Urgent Care for testing.
MASKS
Masks must be worn by all community members indoors in public and common spaces until at least October 3rd. This period will be covered by two rounds of on-campus testing. This timing is fluid, based on what is going on with variants, etc. Masks are not necessary outdoors UNLESS at a College event (class, activity, etc.).
VACCINATED students will NOT need to wear masks inside of their on-campus apartments, but should wear a mask when visiting other apartments.
VACCINATED employees will not need to wear masks in their individual office when alone or with other vaccinated employees if all agree. Faculty when in classrooms when no one else is present, including while on a break, will not need to wear a mask.
UNVACCINATED students and employees will need to be masked at all times, including in residence halls.
CLASSROOMS/STUDIOS
We encourage everyone to take food breaks outdoors, in the Common or under the tent at Hardie. When the weather changes we will identify a few places indoors where vaccinated commuter students, staff, and faculty can take unmasked food breaks.
To begin the semester, eating in classrooms/studios will not be permitted.
Classroom/studio capacity is at 75% for the fall semester.
Policies set by a faculty member in a classroom/studio should be followed.
The Tent at Hardie will be available for events and hanging out. Take advantage of the good weather and meet your people outdoors!
VISITORS
Residences: Resident students ONLY may visit other resident students, across campus, only with FULL HOUSE APPROVAL. Unvaccinated residents MUST be masked at all times when in housing, except when sleeping. There can be NO OVERNIGHT visitors until further notice. On or around October 3rd, this policy may change. NO commuters or other guests (family, friends, etc.) may enter any residences until further notice. (This policy will be relaxed during the designated move-in period August 28-August 31 for each resident student.)
Campus Buildings: Visitors will be permitted in academic/administration/gallery spaces on campus but must be masked at all times while indoors. Signs are being posted around campus to remind our community to remain masked inside campus buildings.
COMPLIANCE
We are a strong, inclusive and caring community. These measures are in place to keep our community healthy and they will be enforced. Please kindly remind people about the policies should you see something that doesn’t comply. Moments of forgetfulness will result in reminders, both verbal and written. Persistent forgetfulness or a willful disregard for these policies could result in serious consequences, up to separation from the College.
Any student who does not participate in the required testing as explained above will face disciplinary action (warning and then fines with additional sanctions possible). Employees who fail to participate in onboarding testing will need to meet with their manager and get a test on their own.
Please consider this document to be our pledge to keep the community safe. Please acknowledge that you have read this by using this link https://forms.gle/maQDzyGcRaAU7e4LA or the QR code and signing your name.
Thank you!
President Kurt
