A previous version of this article stated that Sacramento State will require employees and students to be vaccinated for COVID-19 to return on-campus. While that information was provided in the initial email, the university has since then sent a correction to employees stating that it cannot require students or employees to be vaccinated until one or more of the COVID-19 vaccines are granted full approval by the FDA.   

In an email by Sacramento State President Robert Nelsen to faculty and staff, Sac State released their official reopening schedule for fall 2021, with 54% of classes scheduled to have in-person components.

According to Nelsen in the email, the following dates are subject to change regarding reopening. Nelsen also stated that vaccines will only be required for those returning to campus once one or more COVID-19 vaccines are fully approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Fully vaccinated student employees will be able to return to campus starting June 15 with “written, explicit” approval of their MPP (Management Personal Plan) supervisor, according to the email.  Face-to-face and other forms of instruction is set to begin on August 30. 

Additional face-to-face courses will be added in early June, Nelsen said in the email. Nelsen wrote that 10% of fall classes are planned to be asynchronous. 

RELATED: CSU to require COVID-19 vaccination for fall 2021 semester 

By June 15, all those returning to campus must be approved through OnBase and have an approved safety plan. 

OnBase is an online application, found on Sac State’s website, where students scan and upload forms and documents. Students in labs and working on projects may return to campus with written approval from their immediate MPP supervisor. Department managers will return to campus on Mondays and Wednesdays beginning on June 1. Like students, they must be approved through OnBase with a safety plan. 

On June 1, “travel” will be approvable by divisional vice presidents through Concur, a system for university employees to submit requests for business travel, receipts and direct payments. Travel guidelines will mirror CDC travel guidelines, according to the email.

Nelsen wrote campus facilities like the library, the AIRC, the University Union and The WELL will begin to reopen, though he did not specify a timeframe. Campus food services will also be set to reopen, but to what extent is currently unknown according to Nelsen. 

“I wish that I had all the answers for you,” Nelsen said in the email “I don’t. But we have a way forward, and it starts now.”   

RELATED: Sac State begins administering COVID-19 vaccines to students on campus 

On June 21, offices in Student Affairs, Administration and Business Affairs, Academic Affairs and individual colleges will reopen for at least three days a week. All MPP employees will return to campus on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

The university’s hiring freeze will be lifted July 1, according to the email. However, hiring must have budgetary approval which includes benefit costs. This must be approved by the vice president of each division. 

MPPs will return to campus full time July 12. On August 2, all campus offices will reopen from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Two weeks later on August 16, this time frame will be extended, with offices open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  

This announcement comes after the California State University and the University of California announced April 22 that COVID-19 vaccinations were required for faculty, staff, and students to return to campus following the FDA’s approval of the vaccines. Exemptions for vaccinations will be made based on medical reasons or religious practices. 

RELATED: Sac State students react to CSU decision to require COVID-19 vaccine 

The Pfizer vaccine may possibly be up for Food and Drug Administration approval by this month with Moderna potentially to follow according to KGTV San Diego. As of April 26, the vaccines are under emergency use authorization, which allows medical measures such as vaccines to be used before they normally would be authorized during public health crises, according to the FDA.

At the time of publication, Sacramento is in the red tier of COVID-19 restrictions, which Nelsen says “allows for limited access to campus facilities with necessary precautions such as social distancing and facial coverings.” 

Tiers are planned to be lifted entirely on June 15 as California will return to “usual operations with safety measures” such as face coverings and vaccinations.