Good morning,
Today I stand in solidarity with my community college presidents in seeking to increase the health and safety of our students, faculty and staff.
In light of the ongoing public health concerns and current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), we will require all students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated by January 2022. Only students who wish to register solely for courses that do not require any in-person components and who do not plan to come to campus for any reason will not be required to provide proof of vaccination.
The number of new cases of COVID-19 across the Commonwealth in unvaccinated populations is continuing to increase and our most vulnerable are the greatest risk.
The pandemic has disproportionally affected low-income communities and people of color, furthering the economic divide that exists in our society. Many of our students have suffered great hardships and continue to suffer, yet they still persevere in their goal of a better future through higher education.
I am incredibly proud to be a part of the QCC family and am continually amazed at all we have accomplished together. In these unprecedented times, our college community has rallied together in a show of solidarity for our students. We transitioned to online quickly at the onset of the pandemic, expanded our outreach to communities in need, and increased our support services.
Our number one goal is the safety of our college community, while ensuring vaccination status is not a barrier to students in their quest for a higher education. I believe we can do this with everyone’s help and I thank you all in advance for your support and commitment to our students.
In the coming weeks we will be offering more information on the vaccine requirement process, on-campus vaccine clinics, and other information as it becomes available.
Please watch for more information and I encourage you to read the statement from all 15 community college presidents below.
“During the last 18 months, the Massachusetts Community Colleges have prioritized the health and safety of our communities while also recognizing that many of our students have been disproportionally impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While a significant number of students, faculty, and staff are already vaccinated or are in the process of becoming vaccinated, the 15 colleges are seeking to increase the health and safety of the learning and working environment in light of the ongoing public health concerns and current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
With the number of new cases of COVID-19 across the Commonwealth in unvaccinated populations, the increased access and availability of vaccines in the Commonwealth, the Food & Drug Administration’s full and pending approval of available vaccines, and CDC guidance that the COVID-19 vaccine has been proven to be extremely safe and highly effective at preventing infection, severe disease, hospitalization, and death, the Presidents of all 15 Massachusetts
Community Colleges announced today that they will require students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated by January 2022.
Students who seek to register for courses that do not include any in-person component, and who do not plan to come on campus for any reason for the Spring 2022 semester, will not be required to provide documentation of vaccination.
As participants in the White House’s COVID-19 College Vaccine Challenge, the Massachusetts Community Colleges will continue to make vaccine clinics available on site. Further, the Massachusetts Community Colleges are committed to ensuring vaccination status is not a barrier to students and will continue offering a range of virtual learning opportunities and services. This vaccine requirement is aimed at ensuring the safest learning and working environment possible for the more than 135,000 students we educate and train each year as well as our staff and faculty. Additional details about implementation will be forthcoming.”
