Is Your College on the Growing List of Those Who Will Require Students to Have COVID Vaccinations?

As college faculty and administrators edge toward the Fall 2021 semester, they’re grappling with COVID-19. Administrators are weighing whether to make vaccinations mandatory — or just strongly encourage — students to be vaccinated against Covid-19.

“COVID-19 vaccines reduce the spread of the disease and are very effective at preventing serious illness and hospitalization,” said Sylvia Burwell, American University President, in a statement to students. “While public health measures like face coverings and physical distancing will likely be part of our fall operations, robust vaccination in our community will enable us to expand activities and interactions that enrich the educational, research, and social experiences that are fundamental to AU.”

Faculty are scrambling to find vaccines for themselves, mostly without the help of their institutions.

“I know that at the moment it can be challenging for faculty and staff to schedule a vaccination appointment,” Bowdoin President Clayton Rose wrote to his community. “We have a number of months before the new academic year begins and there is every indication that the process will get easier in the weeks ahead as more vaccines are made available in Maine and across the country. These vaccinations are essential for returning to normal, allowing us to protect ourselves and one another.”

Enrollment solutions and consulting firm Maguire Associates recently released a poll of 15,000 prospective colleges students and 5,000 parents. Of the students, 85 percent of them indicated they would enroll in a college or university that had a vaccine requirement. Better than 90 percent said they would accept mandated mask wearing and social distancing. Of the parents surveyed, only 57 percent of said they would be comfortable with their child enrolling if vaccines were not available to their children by the Fall.

On April 7, Michigan State University set up a student-only vaccination clinic. On April 13, the University of Michigan, likewise, set up its own student-only vaccination clinic.

Below is a list of institutions that will require students to be vaccinated in order to enroll this Fall:

• American University, in Washington, D.C.
• Assumption University, in Massachusetts
• Barnard College, in New York
• Bennington College, in Vermont
• Boston University, in Massachusetts
• Bowdoin College, in Maine
• Brown University, in Rhode Island
• Claremont McKenna College, in California
• Clark Atlanta University, in Georgia
• Columbia College Chicago, in Illinois
• Columbia University, in New York
• Cornell University, in New York
• Dartmouth College, in New Hampshire
• Duke University, in North Carolina
• Emory University, in Georgia
• Fairleigh Dickinson University, in New Jersey
• Fordham University, in New York
• Fort Lewis College, in Colorado
• George Washington University, in Washington, D.C.
• Georgetown University, in Washington, D.C.
• Grinnell College, in Iowa
• Hampton University, in Virginia
• Harvey Mudd College, California
• Holy Cross College, in Indiana
• Ithaca College, in New York
• Johns Hopkins University, in Maryland
• Lasell University, in Massachusetts
• Manhattanville College, in New York
• Morehouse College, in Georgia
• New York University, in New York
• Northeastern University, in Massachusetts
• Nova Southeastern University, in Florida
• Oakland University, in Michigan
• Paul Quinn College, in Texas
• Pitzer College, in California
• Pomona College, in California
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, in New York
• Roger Williams University, in Rhode Island
• Rutgers University, in New Jersey
• St. Edwards University, in Texas
• Saint Mary’s College, in Indiana
• Samuel Merritt University, in California
• Seattle University, in Washington
• Spelman College, in Georgia
• Syracuse University, in New York
• University of Notre Dame, in Indiana
• University of San Diego, in California
• Vassar College, in New York
• Wesleyan University, in Connecticut
• Yale University, in Connecticut