CT State College Students Must Be Fully Vaccinated: Regents Board

CONNECTICUT — The state's Board of Regents for Higher Education is requiring students at Connecticut State Colleges and Universities returning for the fall 2021 semester to be fully vaccinated against the coronavirus.

The BoR's new policy does not specifically require all employees to be fully vaccinated. It does, however, give the CSCU president the authority to impose such a requirement in the future.

"Evaluations are ongoing to determine whether this course of action will be necessary," Regents officials said in a news release Thursday. A "discussion with the unions on this issue" also needs to happen before the vaccination mandate could be adopted across the CSCU workforce, according to the release.

“The vaccines that are currently authorized in the United States are safe, effective, and critical to resuming normal operations at our campuses this fall,” said Jane Gates, interim president of CSCU.

The mandatory vaccination policy arose from the recommendations of a group of CCSU faculty, staff and students, led by the vice chair of the Faculty Advisory Committee, according to Gates. It contains processes by which students can request vaccine exemptions for medical and nonmedical reasons.

“Now is the time for students planning on attending college this fall to get vaccinated. With more infectious, more severe variants becoming more and more prevalent, getting your shot is the best way to protect yourself, your family, and our communities," Gates said.