The Daily Bulletin Archive

As we approach the end of the second week of classes, I want to provide you with an update regarding the vaccination rates of our students. With the New York State mandate now in effect, all students are required to be vaccinated by September 27 unless they have an approved religious or medical exemption.

As of September 7, 95 percent of our residential student population and 83 percent of our overall student body has been fully or partially vaccinated. Some students are still submitting their vaccination documentation to the Weigel Wellness Center or are in the process of becoming vaccinated by the September 27 deadline. Although a modest number of students must still take action to comply with the SUNY mandate, we are pleased with our high student vaccination rate. Additionally, we completed our review of medical and religious exemption applications last week (September 2 deadline), and we can report that less than 3 percent of our student population was granted an exception.

As a gentle reminder, information on exemption status cannot be shared, as it is protected by HIPAA, FERPA, or both. If you are made aware of a student’s exemption status, it is important to keep that information private and treat that student no differently than any other student. Treating students differently because of their vaccination status is not only inappropriate; it is illegal.

Meanwhile, we strongly encourage employees to voluntarily provide proof of vaccination to the Human Resource Management Office. As we continue to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, having employees’ voluntary vaccination information is key to our efforts. You can upload your information or contact the Human Resource Management Office at 878-3042 to schedule an appointment to provide your documentation in person.

Please continue to wear your masks indoors, as well as outdoors in crowded settings, and comply with surveillance testing protocols communicated by Human Resource Management via the Daily Bulletin.  

Thank you to all Bengals for doing their part to keep themselves and each other safe.