Gearing Up for a Great Fall Semester

ALBANY, N.Y. (Aug. 12, 2021) – As we look forward to a more regular campus environment this fall, abiding by protocols and requirements will ensure all community members’ health and safety – and also will bring back, and maintain, the vibrancy we’ve all missed the past year and a half.

As a result of the diligence of students, faculty and staff, last semester the University saw a sharp decrease in the frequency of positive COVID-19 surveillance tests on campus compared to the Fall 2020 semester. With the surge of the Delta variant and significant spread in our region, a number of measures are in place to help us achieve that same success this semester:

• All individuals – regardless of vaccination status – must wear a mask or other face covering while indoors in any UAlbany owned or operated space. This includes workspaces, classrooms, libraries, recreation spaces and all other University spaces. Additionally, everyone, again regardless of vaccination status, must wear a mask outdoors when unable to maintain six feet of physical distance from others (for example, while attending a gathering or sporting event). A list of exceptions to this requirement can be found in the “Face Mask” section of the Health and Safety webpage.

• Anyone who is not yet fully vaccinated, or who has not provided proof of vaccination to the University, must wear a mask at all times, whether indoors or outdoors and regardless of ability to distance from others (on a UAlbany campus) and must remain physically distanced from others whenever space allows. 
• All students planning to live on campus during the Fall 2021 semester must have begun or completed their COVID-19 vaccination cycle by the time they arrive to move into their residence hall or apartment with limited exceptions, regardless of FDA approval of the vaccine. Visit the Vaccinate UAlbany webpage  for instructions on how to upload proof of vaccination.
• According to a state mandate, students who are not already subject to the earlier vaccination requirement for those living on campus will be required to be vaccinated against COVID-19 once the FDA grants final approval of a COVID-19 vaccine. According to the FDA, that approval could be as soon as mid-September.
• Any students or employees who have not submitted proof of full vaccination to UAlbany must continue to participate in UAlbany’s weekly surveillance testing program. 

The safe and effective vaccines approved for emergency use in the United States remain our best means of protecting ourselves and others against serious illness from COVID-19, and the UAlbany community continues to demonstrate their understanding of this with our vaccination rates exceeding state and county averages. As of August 10, 86 percent of students are already fully or partially vaccinated and 80 percent of faculty and staff are fully vaccinated, and this number is expected to increase significantly as more faculty return to campus for the semester and submit their proof of vaccination.

The University is partnering with Lincoln Pharmacy to host several vaccine clinics in the coming weeks. Details are available on the Vaccinate UAlbany webpage.

“We know students, faculty and staff alike are eager for normalcy, but the pandemic isn’t over yet and achieving normalcy is still dependent on all of us to do our part,” said University COVID-19 Safety Officer Kevin Wilcox. “Our relatively low number of cases on campus last semester had nothing to do with luck and everything to do with our collective diligence – and I’m confident we can all do the same this semester while returning to a sense of normalcy.”

For more information about plans and guidelines regarding the ongoing pandemic, visit the UAlbany COVID-19 website.