COVID-19: Steps to Keep Andrews Safe/Students

June 28, 2021

Dear students,

You have probably been following some of the news about the state of Michigan's approach as it makes changes to statewide COVID-19 protocols. These changes have been accompanied by an array of other COVID-19 protocols and modifications around the country and throughout the world.

However, Andrews University is still short of achieving a 70 percent COVID-19 vaccination goal among students within our own campus community. As a result, the University will continue to operate under our existing COVID-19 protocols.

Those protocols include ongoing expectations of masking and physical distancing for those who are not yet fully vaccinated (in line with the current CDC’s safety guidelines for those who aren’t vaccinated). You can review those June 2021 guidelines here.

Also, as has already been announced in connection with current CDC guidelines, those who are fully vaccinated are no longer expected to wear masks or physically distance themselves from others on the Andrews University campus, regardless of whether they are inside or outside. 

All of these protocols are designed to help our community to mitigate the ongoing risks of COVID-19, including the new Delta variant, which is proving to be particularly transmissible compared to earlier versions of the COVID-19 virus.

As a result, Andrews University continues to strongly encourage you to receive a COVID-19 vaccination and to report those COVID-19 vaccinations online here (Andrews sign-in required). If you haven’t received a vaccination yet, but plan to do so, you can find out more about and schedule COVID-19 vaccinations throughout the United States here. You can also schedule a vaccination near our campus in Berrien County here.

However, even as Andrews University encourages vaccinations, please note that Andrews University also recognizes that you may make the personal choice to not be vaccinated, and we will respect that choice.

If you are personally choosing not to receive a vaccination or are unsure of your plans, please take a moment to let us know about those plans here.

Please know that this request is simply a way to help us best assess our progress toward successfully reaching our goal of 70 percent of our Andrews community to be fully vaccinated. Next school year, there will be no individual implications for students and employees who choose not be vaccinated beyond monthly COVID-19 tests and a continued expectation of COVID-19 safety protocols to help best protect those unvaccinated individuals from the ongoing risks of COVID-19 and its variants.

As for this summer session, our current overall COVID-19 protocols will remain in place until after summer graduation in early August, and we will announce any changes to our approach at that time as we prepare for the new school year.

If you have any questions about our continued and important efforts regarding COVID-19 safety protocols, please feel free to reach out to our centralized COVID-19 response team here.

With care,

Frances Faehner
Vice President for Campus & Student Life