Dear Campus Community,
I hope your first week of the Fall 2021 semester has been filled with joy and optimism as we get the new academic year started. With the new year now underway, it is imperative that we commit to the good public health practices that will help us keep the impact of COVID-19 minimal and avoid significant disruption to our promising semester ahead. Please let this message serve as a helpful reminder of the current public health policies and protocols all members of our campus community should adhere to in our efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic.
Face Coverings and Physical Distancing
Ithaca College currently employs a mandatory face covering policy for all individuals, regardless of vaccination status, in all indoor spaces on campus. The only exceptions to this policy for indoor spaces include:
- When alone in an enclosed workspace or office (must not be a shared workspace)
- For students, when within their own residence hall room or apartment
- While in the action of eating and/or drinking in designated dining areas. Face coverings should be reapplied when not in the immediate action of eating or drinking.
Information for vaccinated individuals
- Individuals who are vaccinated have the option to remove their face coverings in outdoor settings on campus.
- Individuals are strongly encouraged to maintain wearing their face coverings in outdoor settings when six-feet of physical distancing from others cannot be maintained.
Information for unvaccinated individuals and other visitors to campus
- Unvaccinated members of our campus community and all visitors to campus must wear face coverings at all times whether indoors or outdoors on campus.
- Physical distancing must be maintained.
Daily Health Screening
Ithaca College continues to require that all members of the campus community complete the Daily Health Screening each day prior to arriving and interacting on campus. The Daily Health Screening is an important self-monitor for potential symptoms of COVID-19 and is delivered to individuals’ IC Netpass email each day.
Students must complete the Daily Health Screening every day in order to maintain compliant “green” status on their IC Health Badge.
Ithaca College employees can update their Daily Health Screening and Testing Registration form on IC Workflow to indicate the days that you will be on campus this upcoming semester, which will tailor the delivery of the screening to your email. This form also permits you to pause the screening temporarily if you will be taking sick or vacation time. If you come to campus on a day that you did not schedule, you can always complete your Daily Health Screening by accessing it via IC Workflow.
IC Health Badge
The IC Health Badge system is important tool for students to showcase COVID-19 compliant status for the Fall 2021 semester. Ithaca College requests that faculty and staff utilize this system and require the display of a “green” IC Health Badge prior to participating in classes, activities, practices, and other events whenever possible and feasible to help reinforce the importance of self-screening and surveillance testing (if applicable).
The IC Health Badge issues experienced during the first day of classes on Monday, August 23, have been resolved and the system should be operating normally. If you are a student who believes their badge status is not displaying properly, please contact the Hammond Health Center immediately to receive further assistance with badge-related issues. Please note that this assistance can take some time to rectify. Students are asked to be proactive in monitoring their badge status regularly, while faculty and staff should use their best judgement with a student who may be expressing frustration or anxiety that their IC Health Badge is not working properly.
As we have continued to communicate, Ithaca College will continue to make timely and informed decisions on any potential changes to our public health policy employed this fall. Please know that Ithaca College continues to everything possible to preserve a vibrant and engaging student experience while also protecting the well-being of our entire campus and greater Ithaca communities. Please continue to make good public health practice the standard with proper utilization of face coverings, good hand hygiene, physical distancing, and responsible behavior both on campus and off campus.
Thank you for your commitment to our collective public health.
Sincerely,
Samm Swarts
Assistant Director for Emergency Preparedness and Response