Vaccine Mandate, Remote Semester Start At Centenary University

HACKETTSTOWN, NJ — Centenary University’s first two weeks of its spring semester, which started this past Monday, is expected to be virtual, with vaccines mandatory and boosters shots encouraged.

According to Centenary’s latest statistics on Jan. 12, 84 percent of the students on-campus have been vaccinated, with 97 percent of the staff.

The COVID threat level, per that report, is at orange or a “significant” level. At the orange threshold, all students and staff are required to be masked indoors and while in campus vehicles, like shuttle buses, regardless of their vaccination status.

For more about the campus alert system, click here.

All students were required to have a full course of COVID vaccines by Dec. 17, with medical and religious exemptions that were also due that date. Students who take classes totally online and are not fully vaccinated were allowed an exemption, which they needed to submit, but can’t take part in any in-person events or get into any University-owned facility until they receive their full course of vaccines.

Unvaccinated students need to COVID test weekly and take part in daily symptom tracking. If they test positive for COVID they need to quarantine per CDC guidelines, either at home or in a separate area on campus. Students who are not vaccinated could face disciplinary actions if they don't follow the rules for unvaccinated students, according to the university’s policy.

Over the past 14 days and specifically on Jan. 11, there was one positive COVID test, not cleared for campus among the university community and two on Jan. 10.

On Jan. 5, the university reported results from on and off-campus, including those to University Health Services, with 15 students and two non-resident students who tested positive. There was one in isolation on campus and three in quarantine on campus at that time. There were 16 in isolation off site. As of that date, 26 students on-campus had recovered and 10 were off-campus.

Additionally on Jan. 7, the university reported 16 staff and faculty had tested positive for COVID with nine in isolation, seven fully recovered and one who completed quarantine. There are 317 employees who were vaccinated by that date.

As of that date, the university reported that it administered during the fall 2021 semester, 2,114 COVID tests, with 22 positive and 2,092 negative results.

See the full and most current update here.

The university updated its requirements ahead of the return to campus on Jan. 10, in a special message from its President Bruce Murphy.

As part of the plan, as well as recently revised COVID-19 policies and procedures, the university’s administrative team decided:

• Classes would be online only through the week of Jan. 17.
• On Jan. 24, all in-person courses or those with an in-person component, are expected to start meeting face-to-face.
• The campus is offering COVID testing on campus, with students living on campus tested before they returned for the semester.
• Vaccines are encouraged, as well as booster shots, with the college planning to offer vaccine clinics as well on campus.
• Everyone on campus, whether vaccinated or not, will need to be masked indoors and in university vehicles, including shuttle buses.
• In-person gatherings are limited in January with no large gatherings allowed.
• Attempts need to be made to schedule any meeting or event virtually first.

Read Murphy’s full message about the return to campus at www.centenaryuniversity.edu/coronavirus-communications/

Questions or comments about this story? Have a news tip? Contact me at: jennifer.miller@patch.com.