All Massachusetts Community Colleges To Require Vaccination Proof

Boston MA

20 September, 2021

1:49 PM

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BOSTON — All students, faculty, and staff attending on-campus classes at the 15 Massachusetts community colleges will need to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by January 2022, the presidents of the schools said Monday. The schools included in the vaccine mandate are Bunker Hill, Bristol, Cape Cod, Berkshire, Greenfield, Holyoke, Massasoit, MassBay, Middlesex, Mount Wachusett, North Shore, Northern Essex, Quinsigamond, Roxbury, and Springfield Technical community colleges. The heads of the schools shared messages with their campuses Monday, adding many of their students have been "disproportionately impacted" by the COVID-19 pandemic. The presidents say they want to "increase the health and safety of learning and working environment in light of the ongoing public health concerns and current guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." Students who register for non-in-person classes and who do not plan to come to campus for any reason in the spring 2022 semester will not be required to provide documentation of their vaccination, says the Massachusetts Association of Community Colleges. However, all employees will be required to be vaccinated by January 2022. '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," the presidents said in the letter. There are about 135,000 students who attend the 15 campuses each year. Many colleges and universities, including UMass schools, required student vaccination for the fall semester.