Skagit Valley College announces fall quarter COVID-19 safety requirements for in-person courses and activities

Skag­it Val­ley Col­lege will require employ­ees and stu­dents that attend cours­es or oth­er activ­i­ties in-per­son to be ful­ly vac­ci­nat­ed against COVID-19 or request an exemp­tion based on med­ical, reli­gious, or philo­soph­i­cal rea­sons pri­or to the start of Fall Quar­ter 2021. The col­lege will con­tin­ue to require every­one to wear face cov­er­ings inside all col­lege build­ings at each of its cam­pus­es and cen­ters regard­less of vac­ci­na­tion sta­tus.   

“Safe­ty is our num­ber one pri­or­i­ty for our stu­dents, employ­ees, and com­mu­ni­ty,” said Dr. Tom Kee­gan, SVC Pres­i­dent. “Based on the guid­ance from the Governor’s Office and pub­lic health offi­cials, it is clear that requir­ing vac­ci­na­tions for our col­lege com­mu­ni­ty will allow us to offer a safer work­ing and learn­ing envi­ron­ment and bet­ter serve our stu­dents and com­mu­ni­ty.”   

Regard­less of vac­ci­na­tion sta­tus, all are wel­come at SVC and the col­lege will con­tin­ue to offer online, hybrid, and in-per­son options for instruc­tion and ser­vices. To attend in-per­son edu­ca­tion and oth­er activ­i­ties, employ­ees and stu­dents must attest that they are ful­ly vac­ci­nat­ed or claim an exemp­tion by Sept. 20. Vis­i­tors will not be required to sub­mit an attes­ta­tion.   

To help stu­dents and the com­mu­ni­ty get vac­ci­nat­ed by the fall, SVC has part­nered with Skag­it Coun­ty Pub­lic Health and Island Coun­ty Pub­lic Health to host free vac­cine clin­ics on its Mount Ver­non and Whid­bey Island cam­pus­es. More infor­ma­tion about the clin­ics is avail­able at skagit.edu/vaccine-clinic.   

Reg­is­tra­tion for fall quar­ter is cur­rent­ly under­way, and the col­lege will offer in-per­son, hybrid, and online class options. Cur­rent­ly, the col­lege is open for in-per­son ser­vices Mon­day-Wednes­day from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. on its Mount Ver­non and Whid­bey Island cam­pus­es and offers online ser­vices on Thurs­day. Start­ing Sept. 7, all cam­pus­es and cen­ters will be open for ser­vices Mon­day-Wednes­day from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. and offer online ser­vices Thurs­days and Fri­days. For infor­ma­tion to apply and reg­is­ter for class­es, vis­it skagit.edu/get-started.   

For more infor­ma­tion about SVC’s COVID-19 pro­to­cols, return to cam­pus plans, and resources, vis­it skagit.edu/coronavirus-information.  For more infor­ma­tion about the Governor’s high­er edu­ca­tion procla­ma­tion and details of a ‘Ful­ly-Vac­ci­nat­ed Cam­pus,’ vis­it Procla­ma­tion 20–12.3. 

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