July 15, 2021
Dear Students,
We hope that your summer is going well and that you are staying healthy and safe as we look forward to the upcoming academic year. Whether you’re joining our on-campus community for the first time or are returning to continue your academic journeys, we’re looking forward to welcoming you to Waltham in a few short weeks.
As the academic year is quickly approaching, we wanted to remind you of the important upcoming deadline for submitting your COVID-19 vaccination information. All undergraduate and graduate students are required to upload proof of completed COVID-19 vaccination to the Bentley Health Portal by August 1. Failure to submit documentation by this deadline may result in a delay of processing and approving your information on time for the start of the fall semester and may cause you to be deregistered from fall classes. Thank you to those students who already uploaded documentation.
Students may file for a medical or religious exemption, but must also do so by August 1. A medical exemption must include contraindication documentation from your health care provider and a religious exemption must be declared in writing following the same process used to seek exemption from new student vaccination requirements upon initial entry to the university. Graduate students in fully remote programs who never come to campus are also exempt from the requirement. Graduate students will receive additional communications in the coming week.
A detailed list of COVID-19 vaccine FAQs can be found on Back to Bentley. Individuals with approved exemptions will be required to continue to wear face coverings, maintain physical distance and enroll in the weekly screening testing program. Those who do not abide by these guidelines will be subject to the conduct system.
Students who do not upload proof of vaccination or proper exemption documentation by August 1 will be subject to the following:
- Non-compliant residential students will not be allowed to move into campus residence halls. Those who arrive to campus without correctly submitted documentation of being fully vaccinated will be required to stay at a hotel or off campus, at the student’s expense, until fully vaccinated and/or documentation is submitted and reviewed.
- All non-compliant students will not be allowed to attend class until fully vaccinated and/or documentation is submitted and reviewed. If you miss the August 1 deadline, we cannot guarantee your documentation will be reviewed on time to start the semester.
- Students who miss the first two weeks of class will be deregistered, per the Course Attendance Policy in the student handbook. As a reminder, you are considered fully vaccinated two weeks after your final dose of a COVID-19 vaccine.
- Early arrival students, including pre-season athletes, student workers, resident assistants, orientation leaders and other student leaders, will not be allowed to access the campus or participate in campus activities until they are fully vaccinated and their documents are submitted and reviewed.
As was shared in May, comprehensive vaccination is an important part of ensuring a safe community and is the best way to guarantee our plans for a near-normal environment with full in-person learning, at-capacity residence halls, and in-person student engagement opportunities and interactive events. Students are required to be vaccinated against a variety of vaccine-preventable diseases that could spread easily on our campus. This includes vaccination against COVID-19.
To upload your proof of vaccination:
- Log into the Bentley Health Portal using your university credentials and select the “Immunizations” tab in the top bar.
- Under immunizations, select “COVID-19 FDA/WHO Accepted Vaccines” to enter your date(s) of vaccination.
- Once you have entered your immunization information, please remember to select the upload tab to upload a scan of your vaccination record card for verification. You must complete this step to be considered compliant.
- Contact complianceservices@medicat.com for inquiries and note immunization records are verified within five to seven days of submission.
We are looking forward to coming together again this fall and are eager to see our campus full with students, faculty and staff again. Widespread vaccination against COVID-19 is the only way we can ensure we come together safely. At times like these, we rely heavily on our Bentley Core Values of caring, collaboration and honesty to ensure we reach our goal of a fully vaccinated campus.
Andrew Shepardson
Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Donna Maria Blancero
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs