Franklin College students will be required to report their vaccination status before they head to campus in the fall.
It wasn’t clear Monday how the students will be asked to show whether they’re vaccinated, or if faculty and staff will be required to do the same. Students will receive further details about the policy sometime this week in an email from Dean Andrew Jones, Prather said in a video to students and parents Friday.
Franklin College is not requiring students to get a COVID-19 vaccine, something Indiana University announced it is doing. However, IU Bloomington and its satellite campuses will no longer require students to submit proof they’re vaccinated to attend after public backlash and Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s opinion that the policy violated state law.
Though vaccines remain optional for Franklin College students, those who choose not to get vaccinated will have a limited student experience, Prather said in the video.
Students who are not vaccinated will no longer be allowed to partake in travel programs. Also, the college will not offer on-campus quarantine and isolation for unvaccinated students who contract COVID-19. Students will have to pay for their own COVID-19 tests, and will have to cover medical expenses that arise from the virus. And students registered for in-person classes will not have virtual options, Prather said.
“It is not logistically feasible nor financially feasible for Franklin College to operate as if a COVID remedy does not exist,” Prather said in the video. “It is not safe to allow those who choose not to be vaccinated to present a risk to the rest of the community. The decision whether to become fully vaccinated is a personal one, but each decision ultimately impacts our collective ability to return to business as usual.”
Students who get vaccinated will likely have a student experience similar to the fall 2019 semester, he said in the video.
“My plea today is for students to take advantage of the COVID vaccines that are readily available and free of charge. Hundreds of millions of doses have been administered throughout the world safely and effectively,” Prather said. “While we have not made a decision to require the vaccine, only fully vaccinated students will have access to the full student experience, free from mitigation efforts in most situations.”
