88 Sac State students failed to meet COVID-19 vaccination certification deadline
Noncompliant students will be disenrolled from on-campus classes
Francis Yuen, faculty in social work, gets injected with his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine by Austin Friedheim on Jan. 28, 2021 in the Brown Bag room in the Union. 88 Sacramento State students are not in compliance with the university’s COVID-19 vaccination certification policy, according to President Robert Nelsen.
September 30, 2021
88 Sacramento State students are not in compliance with the university’s COVID-19 vaccination certification policy and will be disenrolled from all face-to-face classes by Oct. 13, according to a SacSend from President Robert Nelsen.
Nelsen said the timeline for students noncompliant with the vaccination requirement is as follows:
- Until Oct. 3, students will be contacted via text, email and phone calls to remind them to certify their vaccination status.
- On Oct. 4, students who have failed to certify will be denied access to campus. Nelsen said these students will have a negative service indicator on their Student Center.
- On Oct. 6, faculty will be notified which students in their face-to-face classes are denied access to campus, though they will not be told it is because they are out of compliance with the vaccination requirement. According to Nelsen, students who come to class despite being denied access to campus will be reported to Student Affairs and faculty may dismiss the class section if a student is noncompliant. Students who disregard a denial of access to campus notice will be reported to the Student Conduct Officer as well, according to Nelsen.
- From Oct. 11 to Oct. 13, students who have failed to certify their status will be disenrolled from face-to-face classes and may lose financial aid eligibility if they drop below their intended unit load. Noncompliant students also will have a hold on their account that will prevent them from registering for the spring 2022 semester.
Students who have exemptions will continue testing twice a week in Parking Structure III. Failure to test will cause students to receive a warning, and a second failure to test will cause a student to be denied access to campus and could result in them being dropped from face-to-face classes, according to Nelsen.
Nelsen also said that “students who have made special arrangements with faculty to access the University limited times during the semester may be approved for a modified testing requirement,” including allowing students to test up to 48 hours before accessing campus and sending their results to campus. Modifications will be approved on a case-by-case basis, and students can request a modification by emailing [email protected].
Student Health and Counseling has also verified all 31,000 vaccination certifications with Cal Vax, according to Nelsen’s email.
Nelsen said there will be fewer online classes offered in the spring due to the Department of Education’s temporary authorization of online degree programs expiring on Dec. 31, 2021.
Matt Nusbaum • Sep 30, 2021 at 2:59 pm
Great article; thank you!
My only complaint is one I have with reporting on this topic in general, but on display here. Headlining the number without context in either the headline or the article leaves the reader wondering if 88 is a lot or a little. That should matter to the story. Yes, you note that 31,000 vax certificates were verified, but the reader is left to either notice or not, connect the dots or not, and do the math or not.
Sac State students are over 99.7% vaccinated. That 88 represents less than 0.3% of the student population. So another, rather obvious way to frame the headline might be that Sac State students are nearly 100% vaccinated. That’s news, and it is exciting and encouraging news. What is not so obvious is why you (or your editors) chose to frame it another way. As it is, the focus appears to be on the hardships that the 88 will face rather than on how Sac State is a safe place to get your higher education. That is disappointing.
Be well, stay safe, and keep writing!