Campus Health & Safety
Campus Health & Safety
Last updated: May 9, 2022
Drew’s commitment to operate a safe and healthy campus is evidenced in our instructional, testing, residential, employment, and facilities plans and policies in accordance with requirements from the state and recommendations from the CDC.
Vaccination Resources
We strongly encourage all community members to get vaccinated and boosted.
Students
For new incoming students for fall 2022, all health forms, including COVID-19 vaccine documentation, are due on July 15, 2022.
For the fall 2021 semester, residential and commuter students were required to be vaccinated and upload their vaccine records to their Student Health Portal at least two weeks prior to arriving to campus for the fall 2021 semester. Requests for exemptions for medical or religious reasons were considered on a case-by-case basis. Less than five percent of the student body have been approved for exemptions.
On December 20, 2021, the University announced that students, faculty, staff, and contract workers were required to receive their booster as soon as possible, with a March 31, 2022 deadline. Read the announcement here.
Faculty and Staff
On August 25, 2021, shortly after the FDA announced full approval of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine, the University implemented a policy to require full vaccination for all faculty, adjunct faculty, staff, temporary employees, and independent contractors working on Drew’s campus by October 15, 2021. Read the full message here.
Employees not yet vaccinated or seeking a medical or religious exemption were required to:
- Receive their first vaccine dose of Pfizer or Moderna, the single dose of J&J/Janssen, or have requested an exemption by September 10. Exemption forms are available here and on the HR website.
- Fully complete their vaccination series or have an approved exemption by October 15.
- Follow campus health and safety guidelines, including wearing a face covering indoors and physically distance from others (where possible), as well as participate in weekly off-campus COVID testing, at your personal expense, until such time that you are fully vaccinated. Beginning August 30, negative test results must be uploaded every Monday morning prior to reporting to campus using this Google Form.
If your vaccination status has changed since completing the employee survey, please update your information here.
On December 20, 2021, the University announced that students, faculty, staff, and contract workers were required to receive their booster as soon as possible, with a March 31, 2022 deadline. Read the announcement here.
Testing
Spring 2022 Surveillance Testing | Symptomatic Testing
Spring 2022 Surveillance Testing
We will continue to observe local, regional, and global infection rates and transmission trends, and may increase or adapt our testing requirements at any time. Any changes will be communicated to the community via email. Our current testing protocols are outlined below.
Pre-Arrival Testing
We strongly encourage students to get a COVID-19 test prior to arriving on campus, although it is not mandatory. If you test positive prior to returning to campus, please remain off campus until your isolation period is complete and upload a copy of your positive test to your student health portal. If you are ill or experiencing symptoms, do not come to campus until you are tested.
Arrival Testing
All returning residential students, regardless of vaccination/booster status, will be required to take a COVID-19 test upon arriving on campus.
- Returning residential students must check in at the Ehinger Center to take their arrival test prior to returning to their residence hall. All returning students must schedule their check-in/move-in time here. Arriving outside of the check-in times is not permitted as testing is only available during the posted hours. Those traveling from outside the region who have transportation tickets already purchased can inform the Office of Residence Life at reslife@drew.edu about any need for alternative check-in arrangements.
- Students who have tested positive for COVID-19 within the past 90 days are exempt from arrival testing. If you had a positive test outside the Health Service, please upload a copy of your positive test to your student health portal. You must still schedule a move-in appointment, even though you do not need to complete arrival testing.
- Commuter students are strongly encouraged to take a COVID-19 test prior to the first day of in-person classes. You are welcome to test on campus during the times listed above.
- Students who test positive during arrival testing and are able to return home will be strongly encouraged to do so.
Surveillance Testing
All exempt, unvaccinated students and employees who had not tested positive in the prior 90 days were tested weekly during the semester through March 8, 2022, when the University updated its policy based on local, state, and federal guidance. As of the March 8, 2022, announcement, exempt, unvaccinated employees no longer had to test weekly. Symptomatic testing protocols remain in effect. Read more about this decision here.
Symptomatic Testing
All students, regardless of vaccination status, will be tested by Health Services if they report symptoms suggestive of COVID-19. Faculty and staff who exhibit symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 should contact their health care provider for testing and evaluation, and report any positive tests to HR and their supervisor.
Face Coverings
Masks
As was communicated on March 8, 2022, individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will no longer be required to wear masks in most on-campus locations.
Masks will continue to be required in the Health Service and as part of quarantine and isolation protocols, including by those who are identified as close contacts. Those who are experiencing any symptoms of a respiratory illness are also strongly encouraged to wear a mask.
The official convener of an individual class, lab, gathering, or meeting—whether it be a faculty or staff member—will be able to require that participants wear a mask. Students who are convening gatherings or student meetings may also require participants to wear a mask.
In instances of one-on-one meetings, either party may request that a mask be worn. If this is not acceptable to both parties, an alternative arrangement (e.g., a Zoom meeting) should be made.
While masks are no longer a requirement, the University wholeheartedly supports anyone who continues to wear a mask for any reason. We are instituting this policy change with the expectation that all members of the Drew community will be understanding of individual situations and choices.
The University reserves the right to reinstate a mask requirement should a need arise due to guidance or on-campus conditions.
Screening
We trust that all members of the Drew community will self monitor for signs and symptoms of illness, and stay home if feeling ill and get tested for COVID-19 if experiencing symptoms.
Contact Tracing, Isolation, and Quarantine
The Health Service staff will conduct contact tracing for students who test positive for COVID-19 on campus.
Based on the CDC’s current guidance, students who tests positive for COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, will isolate for five days. They can leave isolation on the sixth day as long as they have been fever-free for 24 hours without the use of fever-reducing medication and symptoms have mostly resolved. Students in this situation must remain masked for five additional days.
Students who are fully vaccinated and boosted and are close contacts will not need to quarantine if exposed to COVID-19. They must wear a mask for 10 days and test for COVID-19 in the Health Center five days after their exposure. Those who have tested positive for COVID-19 within 90 days of exposure and remain without symptoms do not have to quarantine or get tested; however, they should wear a mask for 10 days after the date of exposure.
Individuals identified as close contacts who are not fully vaccinated and boosted must quarantine for five days and test five days after their exposure.
Faculty and Staff: Human Resources will conduct contact tracing for employees who test positive for COVID-19. Faculty and staff experiencing COVID-19 symptoms or who have tested positive must not teach or work in person, and must notify HR and their supervisor. Any employee who tests positive for COVID-19 will be required to isolate for 10 days prior to returning to campus and should notify HR at humres@drew.edu.
Employees who have been exposed to COVID-19 will be required to follow CDC and local guidance. Currently, this requires vaccinated individuals to be tested five to seven days after exposure, and to wear a face covering and self monitor for symptoms for 14 days or a negative test result. Unvaccinated individuals are required to quarantine for 10 to 14 days and be tested between days five to seven after exposure.
Faculty who feel well enough to teach may teach remotely and should email CLADean@drew.edu if they expect to remotely teach two or more consecutive in-person classes for any one course. If unable to teach for extended periods, faculty should work with department chairs or the dean’s office to make arrangements for covering classes.
If well enough to perform job duties, staff should work with their supervisor regarding remote work arrangements.