CSU COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement
Dear SDSU Community,
We are very pleased with today’s announcement by the California State University (CSU) system that the COVID-19 vaccine will be required for students, faculty, and staff, including auxiliary employees in order to access campus this fall. As outlined by the CSU, this requirement is not contingent on the full U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval, and therefore removes some of the earlier uncertainty regarding the policy’s effective date.
As a follow-up to this CSU announcement, we are writing to provide additional information ahead of the fall 2021 semester.
We are so proud of the more than 25,000 students who have already uploaded their vaccination documentation via the HealtheConnect portal.
If you are a current or incoming student who has not yet uploaded documentation to HealtheConnect, you have until the deadline of Monday, Aug. 16 . The upload process takes no more than 10 minutes. All students who will be physically on campus, whether it be for classes, events, meetings or other reasons, must be vaccinated.
As shared earlier this month, SDSU will be implementing a mandatory COVID-19 testing requirement for all students. However, with the CSU’s updated COVID-19 vaccine policy, the mandatory weekly testing will only be required for unvaccinated students with an approved medical or religious exemption on file with the university. Additional information on medical and religious exemptions is detailed below.
Information on the enforcement of this and other university COVID-19 policies can be found in the “Enforcement of Vaccination and Testing Protocols” section of this message.
For students who will live on campus in the fall, and consistent with the practice of most residential universities this year, SDSU is requiring that all residents show a negative COVID-19 test prior to move-in. Residential students must upload a copy of their test results to the university’s HealtheConnect portal at least 48 hours before they move-in. Tests must be administered no earlier than seven (7) days prior to their move-in date. This pre-arrival testing requirement applies to all on-campus residents, regardless of vaccination status.
If a student receives a positive COVID-19 test or fails to upload proof of a negative COVID-19 test, they will not be permitted to move into on-campus housing during the move-in period. Additional information will be sent directly to our incoming on-campus residents today.
The updated CSU vaccine policy requires all faculty and staff, including auxiliary employees with SDSU Research Foundation, Associated Students (A.S.) and Aztec Shops to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. As shared in the CSU announcement, the CSU is currently in the meet and confer process with its labor unions. Details for represented employees will be shared at a later date once finalized.
All non-represented faculty and staff, including auxiliary employees, should submit their completed vaccination documentation to HealtheConnect now, and no later than Aug. 16. The upload process takes no more than 10 minutes. Please note: This is a different process than the self-attestation form, which most faculty and staff have already completed.
For the remainder of summer: If you plan to be on-campus before August 20 and want to take advantage of the updated facial covering policy, please complete the faculty and staff self-attestation vaccination form. The process takes less than 5 minutes to complete.
The CSU COVID-19 vaccination requirement allows for students, faculty and staff to seek an exemption based on medical or religious grounds. Exemption requests for students and non-represented faculty and staff must be submitted before Aug. 16. If an individual is in the process of being vaccinated, but will not be fully vaccinated by Aug. 20, the first official day of the fall semester (Aug. 23 is the first day of classes), they can complete a temporary waiver request. This will place the individual on a testing program until they reach fully-vaccinated status. Please note: An individual is fully vaccinated two weeks after their second dose of a two-shot vaccine or two-weeks after the first dose of a single-shot vaccine.
Information on submitting an exemption request can be found here.
While SDSU and the CSU are allowing limited medical or religious exemptions to the vaccination requirement, no such exemptions are being offered for the testing requirement for those who are unvaccinated or who have not uploaded proof of vaccination.
While details are still being finalized for faculty and staff, students who are on an approved vaccination exemption will receive weekly reminders about ways to get tested.
Because of the serious nature of COVID-19 and the importance of vaccination for individual and community wellness, the university will take action should any student not adhere to the COVID-19 vaccination or testing requirement. Students who miss their testing windows during the fall will receive reminders via their official SDSU email accounts. Students who remain non-compliant for more than 5 days after missing their testing window will need to meet with the Center for Student Rights and Responsibilities (CSRR). Due to the severity of the ongoing public health concern around the global pandemic, and in the interest of individual and community safety, sanctions are possible for students who do not comply, to include warnings and suspensions.
The science continues to show that vaccination is the single most effective tool at both preventing spread and dramatically reducing symptoms or risk to individual health. During the last 30 days, 98% of cases requiring hospitalization in San Diego County are among the unvaccinated.
All this summer, SDSU’s Student Health Services has all three vaccines available in the U.S.: Moderna, Pfizer, and Johnson & Johnson, open to appointments for any faculty, staff, or student. To make an appointment today, log into HealtheConnect .
We look forward to seeing you as part of our in-person campus community again.
With warm regards,
Adela de la Torre, Ph.D.
San Diego State University President
Agnes Wong Nickerson, MBA
Interim Vice President for Business and Financial Affairs and Chief Financial Officer
J. Luke Wood, Ph.D.
Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Diversity