January Updates on COVID-19 Protocols

Jan. 5 Update: The Berrien County Health Department has recommended that it's best to wear masks that are at least two or three layers.

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Letter to Students, Jan. 3, 2022: COVID-19 Updates for Spring Semester

Happy New Year, Andrews University students,

This note is to make sure you are informed of COVID-19 expectations and protocols for the start of in-person studies for spring semester on Jan. 10. Please note that some of these expectations and protocols have changed due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant in the U.S. and around the world.

As you prepare for spring semester classes beginning on Monday, Jan. 10, there are key steps you must take as we recommit to the safety of our community.

• Please plan to limit your exposure, including being careful to use masking and distancing in group gatherings in the final three to five days before your arrival on campus for spring semester.
• With the increased risk of contagion to all individuals with the Omicron variant, if at all possible please take a COVID-19 test a maximum of 72 hours prior to your return to campus, regardless of your vaccination status. For those not vaccinated or with prior immunity this result must be uploaded (see details below).
• ALL residence hall students, irrespective of vaccination status, will be required to show the results of a negative COVID-19 test (either a PCR or antigen test) taken no more than 72 hours prior to arrival on campus. If you are unable to meet that expectation, you will be required to take a COVID-19 test when you arrive on campus. You’ll hear more details about these COVID-19 requirements and protocols directly from the Residence Life team.
• If you’ve not yet reported being vaccinated or having acquired immunity, please complete the Spring 2022 Screening Form to report vaccination, acquired immunity, or negative COVID-19 test results (the negative COVID-19 test result must be completed no more than 72 hours prior to your arrival on campus; if you have a positive COVID-19 test result, do not travel to campus until your isolation is completed).This must be completed and submitted prior to attending your first class.
• Please note that the Screening Form only allows access through an Andrews University email account. In most cases, if you see a permission notice from Google it is due to your web browser (such as Google Chrome) being logged in via your personal Gmail account versus your University account (which uses your Andrews email address). If you get this notice, you should switch accounts and be able to log in, then complete and submit the form.
• If you are registered for spring 2022 courses and have already reported being vaccinated or having acquired immunity, the COVID-19 Team will confirm your status with you via your University email address.
• Monthly testing at a student’s expense for those who are not vaccinated or have acquired immunity will be an ongoing expectation during spring semester. You can find local, southwest Michigan options for COVID-19 testing here.
• Please remember that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, is required to wear masks while indoors on campus. Our indoor mask mandate has been extended through Jan. 31.
• Decisions on in-person classes during inclement winter weather will follow the same approach as last school year, and we’ll plan to make decisions the night before. We will leave it at the discretion of individual faculty to communicate their expectations to their students regarding any remote teaching or assignments for that day.

Please reach out to our COVID-19 Team if you have any questions related to the Spring 2022 Screening Form. The COVID-19 Team can be reached at covid19@andrews.edu. To report symptoms/exposure, please use #CampusClear now or at any point during the semester as soon as you begin experiencing symptoms of illness or become aware of potential exposure.

Thank you once again for your shared and ongoing commitment to our Community Covenant of Care in this new year and new semester to come.

As 2022 begins, may God’s love and blessings continue to surround you, our campus community and our world.

Andrea Luxton
President

Christon Arthur
Provost

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Letter to Employees, Jan. 3, 2022: COVID-19 Updates for Spring Semester

Happy New Year, colleagues,

This note is to confirm and share further updates on COVID-19 expectations and protocols for our employees and our Andrews University community as spring semester begins a week from today, Jan. 10.

First, we pray and trust that your holidays, with family and friends and maybe even with some extra time for yourself, were blessed and safe.

As we prepare for this new semester we want to thank you for your ongoing and shared commitment to our Community Covenant of Care, which helps keep our campus community as safe as possible during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, especially as we face the rapidly expanding impact of the Omicron variant here in the United States and around the world.

We’d like to remind you of the virtual Employee Town Hall this Thursday, Jan. 6, at 3:30 p.m., which will review COVID-19 updates and protocols for spring semester and offer time for questions and answers. Thank you in advance for your participation in this critical discussion and review. We'll confirm Zoom details for this webinar shortly.

Over the holidays, plans for the Occupational Health & Safety Administration’s (OSHA) Vaccination and Testing Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) were allowed to proceed. There have been previous legal appeals to this ETS; the Supreme Court will also review this new OSHA standard later this week.

Due to this development, overall ETS protocols for the University, including the implementation of the specific vaccination or testing standards for employees who are not fully vaccinated, are required to be in place by Feb. 10.

As we prepare for the implementation of this government standard over the next several weeks, employees will need to document full vaccination details online (we’ll share that link with you by email later this month) or begin required weekly testing for those who are not vaccinated, who have acquired immunity or who are partially vaccinated. Andrews University will cover the costs connected with University-provided weekly COVID-19 testing on campus for those who are not fully vaccinated. Any costs for COVID-19 tests completed off-campus to meet this requirement will not be reimbursed.

Andrews University will continue to monitor legal developments and other updates on the ETS and will share additional details on how it impacts you and the University. Please note that if you’re a contract employee working on our campus, e.g. through Dynamic Campus, Bon Appétit or Barnes & Noble, please confirm your employer’s expectations on the OSHA ETS guidelines directly with them.

Other COVID-19 mitigation steps already in place continue to remain essential for our community:

• Please continue to carefully limit your exposure. Also, please remember that everyone, regardless of vaccination status, is required to wear masks while indoors on campus. The indoor mask mandate has now been extended and remains in place through Jan. 31, 2022.
• Continue to practice physical distancing in group gatherings, as appropriate.
• Continue to report symptoms or exposures in a timely manner through #CampusClear.
• Decisions on in-person classes during inclement winter weather will follow the same approach as last school year, and we’ll plan to make decisions the night before. We will leave it at the discretion of individual faculty to communicate their expectations to their students regarding any remote teaching or assignments for that day.
• For those who have fully completed a primary COVID-19 vaccination, you are eligible to receive the booster shot, and we encourage you to please do so. This booster shot presents important added protection in the midst of a particularly contagious fifth wave of COVID-19 driven by the new Omicron variant, which has brought record levels of daily COVID-19 infections nationwide. Daily cases in the U.S. have doubled in recent weeks, with more than 400,000 cases/day, compared to a previous high of just over 300,000 cases/day in the winter COVID-19 surge early last year.

As we commit to beginning this new year and semester together as safely as possible, we pray for God’s blessings in this new year for you, for Andrews University and for your family and friends—and our world.

Andrea Luxton
President

Christon Arthur
Provost