Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

Thanks to your resilience, vigilance, patience, and commitment to the success of our university community, Illinois Tech will soon return to full, on-campus activities, starting on August 2.

Vaccination Requirement for Students, Faculty, and Staff

To continue this hard-earned progress, Illinois Tech will require all students, faculty, and staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. Specifically, individuals who are in the United States on or before August 2 will be expected to receive their first COVID-19 vaccine shot by August 15, 2021. Individuals who come to the United States after August 2 will be required to receive their first shot by September 17, 2021. All Illinois Tech students, faculty, and staff are required to report proof of vaccination as soon as possible, according to the process detailed below. Second shots, if required, are to follow as prescribed.

You can read the entire vaccine requirement policy by clicking on the following link: Vaccine Requirement and Reopening Policy.

The World Health Organization and the Food and Drug Administration have found COVID-19 vaccines to be safe and effective, and the vaccines are readily available at pharmacies and health care providers in Chicago and Illinois. By requiring our university community to be vaccinated, we will further support a complete return to normal for campus operations. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and state and local health authorities, have made it clear that widespread COVID-19 vaccination is the best way to reduce the risk to our community. Earlier this week the Illinois Board of Higher Education strongly urged all Illinois colleges and universities to require vaccinations for campus communities.

Submitting Proof of Vaccination Status

Subject to the limited exceptions discussed below, all Illinois Tech students, faculty, and staff are required to provide proof of vaccination as soon as possible.

Illinois Tech faculty and staff are to electronically upload proof of their COVID-19 vaccinations to the Office of Human Resources via this link: Faculty & Staff Vaccination Documentation.

Students are to electronically upload proof of their COVID-19 vaccination to the Student Health and Wellness Center via this link: Student Vaccination Documentation.

Proof must be either a CDC-issued COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or an electronic health record from a health care provider or health care system.

If you are having trouble scheduling a vaccine appointment, a vaccine finder is available at Vaccines.gov. The State of Illinois and the City of Chicago have also assembled resources that you can use to secure a vaccine appointment.

Illinois Tech will be hosting a number of on-campus vaccination events this semester; details will be circulated as these events are announced.

Exceptions and Mitigation Measures

We understand that the following limited circumstances may apply to members of our community, and as a result, these individuals may be unable, permanently or temporarily, to get vaccinated as required:

1. Health conditions,
2. Sincerely held religious beliefs, or
3. Concerns about receiving currently available vaccines while they are under FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) status.

Anyone who remains unvaccinated due to one of these three exceptions or is not fully vaccinated or who has not reported their vaccination status by Sunday, August 15 is required to:

Exceptions Documentation

Faculty, staff, or students seeking a permanent or temporary health exception must provide the university with documentation from a licensed medical provider. Faculty and staff are to submit this documentation to the Office of Human Resources via this link: Faculty & Staff Medical Vaccine Exception Requests; students are to submit documentation to the Center for Disability Resources via this link: Student Medical Vaccine Exception Requests.

For exceptions due to non-medical reasons—either a deeply held religious belief or EUA exception—faculty, staff, and students must provide, as the case may be, a personal statement that identifies such belief and explains how it inhibits their ability to get vaccinated, or an acknowledgement that they are deferring getting vaccinated due to the vaccines’ EUA status but that they will get vaccinated as soon as a vaccine receives full FDA approval. Faculty or staff members are to submit this statement to the Office of Human Resources via this link: Faculty & Staff Non-Medical Vaccine Exception Requests; students are to submit this documentation to the Center for Disability Resources via this link: Student Non-Medical Vaccine Exception Requests.

The documentation will be reviewed in accordance with applicable law, and the faculty or staff member or student will be notified whether the exception has been granted.

For more information about vaccine exceptions, please refer to the full policy here: Vaccine Requirement and Reopening Policy.

As always, the university will review and revise this policy as appropriate given changes to state and city public-health guidelines.

Thank you for your continued and tireless commitment to the success of our university community. We are all looking forward to a healthy and safe return to campus with our colleagues and friends.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Alan W. Cramb
President, Illinois Institute of Technology

Peter Kilpatrick
Provost, Illinois Institute of Technology