December 30, 2021

Dear Spelman community,

As we continue to enjoy our holiday break and look forward to a prosperous and safe new year, we find ourselves facing another pandemic-related challenge.

With the continued threat of the delta variant, and newly diagnosed cases of the omicron COVID-19 variant on the rise in Georgia, and more than 20 states, Spelman College, like an increasing number of colleges and universities around the country, will establish additional health protocols to create a safe educational environment for us all.

All protocols have been developed in close consultation with the Atlanta University Center Consortium (AUCC), the Spelman College Council of Chairs, in alignment with CDC guidelines and with expert guidance from the Morehouse School of Medicine Science Team.

To continue to protect our community, the College will delay the start of move-in and in-person operations, add new testing requirements prior to arrival on campus for the spring semester, and include a booster shot mandate.

Please carefully review the following enhanced protocols implemented by Spelman and the AUCC. This information updates all previous guidance regarding our return to campus for the spring 2022 semester:

Spring semester will start online. Classes will resume as scheduled on Wednesday, Jan. 12; however, all classes will be held virtually through Friday, Jan. 28. In person classes will begin on Monday, Jan. 31. A detailed guide to support this pivot in course instruction will be sent out to faculty next week.

Move-in will be delayed. Students assigned to Spelman College residence halls will be required to schedule an appointment to arrive at campus between Jan. 24 - 28. Available appointments will limit the number of residents arriving at any specific timeframe to allow appropriate social distancing.

• Students will not be permitted onto campus before their scheduled arrival appointment.
• No guests will be allowed to accompany students into the residence halls during this arrival period.
• The schedule will be available from Jan. 10 - 16 on the Housing Dashboard at http://www.spelman.edu/housing.
• The housing staff will schedule residents who do not make their appointments to arrive by Jan. 16.

Faculty and staff will remain remote until late January. Faculty and staff are expected to return to work on Tuesday, Jan. 4. Staff should continue to work remotely 100 percent of the time until Monday, Jan. 24. At that time, all staff that have been cleared to return to campus with a negative PCR test may revert back to their originally approved schedule.

Staff that have been required to work on campus to maintain essential on-site operations will continue to work on campus. Additional details regarding testing for this population for this period are forthcoming. Both faculty and staff must submit a negative PCR test prior to their return to campus.

Pre-arrival testing is required. Students and employees -- including students moving into on-campus housing and/or attending classes and employees occupying offices or workspaces -- must order, take, and return an at-home COVID saliva PCR test prior to arriving on campus for the spring semester.
A link and instructions on how to order at-home testing kits will be emailed within the next 10 days.

Booster shots are now required. Booster shots are now required. All eligible students and employees must submit proof of booster shots before Sunday, Feb. 6, unless an exemption has been approved. Eligible students and employees are those 18 years or older who received their last dose of the Pfizer or Moderna shot more than 6 months prior or who received the Johnson and Johnson/Janssen shot more than 2 months ago.

The College will share more information on booster shots in a forthcoming email.

There will be no on-campus events with visitors in January. Events scheduled for January involving visitors must be canceled, moved off-campus, or held virtually.

In addition to the protocols mentioned above, the College will continue to enforce mitigation practices like mask wearing in both indoor and outdoor spaces, regular hand washing, and social distancing to continue to help protect the health, safety, and well-being of our campus community.

As noted in a recent Atlanta Journal Constitution article, data collected throughout the AUCC demonstrated that our protocols produced an unusually low rate of infection of 0.4 percent, one of the best among college campuses in the country. Our intent is to continue this trend through the spring semester.

Thanks again for your partnership as we navigate these challenging times together. I hope you all have a safe and restful start to your new year.

Be well. Be safe. And keep the faith.

Best regards,