Dear Colleagues:
I hope your summer is giving you the opportunity to relax, recharge, and spend some time planning for the “new normal” at GW this fall. I deeply appreciate all the hard work you are devoting to the preparation of an outstanding academic experience for our new and returning students, and I look forward to renewed energy on campus and throughout the entire GW community.
Below are some additional details regarding in-person instruction and a reminder about our vaccine requirement.
Instruction
Courses will be in person, unless there is a programmatic need for an entire course section to be online. Classroom assignments have been posted in the Schedule of Classes (or, for GW Law students, the Records Office information page), including information on room locations and instructional mode. Space assignments also are being made for instruction at the Virginia Science and Technology Campus and other locations. We have encouraged students with questions about course registration to contact their advisors (or, in the case of GW Law students, the Records Office).
Accommodations
The standard accommodation process for faculty through GW’s Equal Employment Opportunity and Access office remains in effect.
I also want to share with you the information we are communicating to students about their accommodations. Undergraduate students in CCAS, ESIA, GWSB, Milken Institute SPH, and SEAS have been notified that instruction will be in person for fall 2021. Graduate and professional students, as well as undergraduates in SMHS, SON, and CPS, are receiving more tailored messages that are suited to the instructional formats of their programs. The dean’s offices in each of the schools/colleges will notify individual faculty members if accommodations are necessary for an individual student. The dean’s offices—rather than individual faculty members—are responsible for decisions about granting accommodations.
Vaccine Requirement and Exemptions
As a reminder, GW requires students, faculty, and staff to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19, unless they receive an approved exemption.
Vaccine documentation should be submitted as soon as possible and no later than August 1. We are verifying individual vaccine compliance manually and need ample time to certify your compliance before the fall term. Please find information regarding vaccine documentation verification, important dates, how to access campus this summer, FAQs, and the vaccination process here.
Faculty who wish to receive an exemption from vaccination were required to have submitted their requests to GW Occupational Health by June 7. For questions, contact GW Occupational Health at 202-677-6230 or [email protected]. Those who are exempted will be required to follow enhanced health protocols, such as mask wearing, weekly testing, and daily symptom monitoring.
Stay Tuned
We will continue to provide updates about fall planning throughout the summer, and more specific information about classroom health protocols is forthcoming in the next few weeks. We will also update you should any accommodations for our students change.
As always, thank you for being a vital part of the GW community. I look forward to a productive fall semester.
Sincerely,
Christopher Alan Bracey
Interim Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs