By Guy Page
Norwich University, Bennington College, Champlain College, and St. Michaels College will require students to receive the Covid-19 vaccination as a condition of enrollment for the fall, 2021 semester.
Nearby Dartmouth College (NH), Plattsburgh State (NY), and Westfield State (MA) also will require vaccination, University Business website said. Neither the University of Vermont nor the Vermont State Colleges at present require vaccination. Middlebury College reportedly will issue fall semester guidance this week.
Norwich, a Northfield-based college with a strong military history and program: “To create the best experience for all, Norwich University has joined the growing number of higher education institutions requiring the COVID-19 vaccination for Fall 2021. All students, faculty, and staff on campus in the fall will be required to confirm vaccination,” said a May 11 statement on the school website.
St. Michael’s: a liberal arts Catholic college located in Colchester: “Beginning May 23 2021, Saint Michael’s College will add the COVID-19 vaccine to its list of required vaccines for students. Students will also be required to keep their COVID-19 vaccinations up to date as booster shots become available. Saint Michael’s joins a growing list of colleges and universities requiring the COVID-19 vaccine to help ensure that the campus is safe and can resume normal operations when appropriate and to protect those who cannot be vaccinated due to medical or religious reasons.”
The SMC dashboard shows a total of 54 total positive tests, with no-one now in quarantine or isolation.
Champlain College, a Burlington school with a strong business program, on May 6 published this statement: it is our intention to require that all students returning to campus in fall 2021, including those studying in Montreal and Dublin, be fully vaccinated once the vaccines have received full FDA approvals. We will work with individual students who have qualifying exemptions, including for medical or religious reasons. We have not yet determined whether vaccination will be required for faculty and staff.
Bennington College has not yet decided whether to require staff and faculty to be vaccinated. But on April 16 it published its decision on students: “To ensure the health of the community and to provide a safe environment for learning and living, Bennington College will require full vaccination for students returning to campus for Fall 2021.”
Photo credit St. Michaels College Facebook page