MSU is requiring students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 as well as receive a booster shot, with limited medical and religious exemptions, as well as online-only exemptions for students only (that directive has been extended for the 2022-23 academic year). Below are answers to questions about these requirements as well as general FAQs.
If you are feeling ill or have tested positive for COVID-19, you should self-isolate and avoid close contact with all others.
Students are asked to not come to class if they are experiencing any symptoms associated with COVID-19 and reach out to their instructors for accommodations so that they can continue their coursework. Faculty are asked to be empathetic to those who are unable to attend class for a time and to recognize the mental health challenges that students and colleagues may be experiencing.
Employees experiencing symptoms should not come to work and contact their supervisor to make accommodations.
For more information on what to do if you are ill, test positive or are exposed to COVID-19, visit the COVID-19 guidance page.
In the U.S., anyone 5 years of age and older, including international students, is eligible to receive a COVID-19 vaccine. It is being distributed via doctor’s offices, hospital systems, pharmacies, grocery stores, county health departments and many other locations.
All members of the MSU community age 12 and older, including students, faculty, staff, patients, retirees and their families, can receive a Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine or booster through the MSU Health Care Pharmacy.
Students also can get a vaccine or booster through Olin Health Center from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday by calling (517) 353-4660 to book an appointment.
You can also find a COVID-19 vaccine or booster near you by visiting vaccines.gov.
While the Early Detection Program and PCR testing at the Clinical Center have both ended, other testing options are widely available.
The following rules apply if you test positive for COVID-19 or are exposed to someone who is positive:
For more information on what to do if you are ill, test positive or are exposed to COVID-19, visit the COVID-19 guidance page.
MSU requires students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated and have received a booster shot OR have received an approved exemption. The mandate has been extended to include the 2022-23 academic year. The vaccine and booster mandates may be modified or may be continued after the 2022/2023 academic year as conditions warrant.
Even those who contracted COVID-19 previously are required to receive a vaccine and booster when eligible, which provides additional protection.
Volunteers, unpaid/no-pay appointees and emeriti faculty are not subject to the vaccine mandate, though visiting scholars are required to receive a vaccine and booster.
The vaccine requirement does not apply to contractors or vendors. Visitors to campus, unless they are a student, faculty or staff member, also are not required to be vaccinated.
For information on receiving a vaccine or booster, click here.
New students must either be on the path to being fully vaccinated and boosted or apply for an exemption before they will be allowed to enroll in courses at MSU. Only after filling out the vaccine verification form with their information will they be allowed to enroll in courses.
Students, faculty and staff enter their information using MSU's vaccine verification form. Ensure you are using a supported browser (Chrome, Firefox or Edge).
To enter your vaccine doses, please provide the dates of vaccination and the manufacturer of the vaccine (Pfizer, Moderna, etc.).
To enter your booster info, go to the vaccine verification form and click “Edit info/Add booster.” The box indicating you have received your original vaccine (Yes, I have) should be marked. Click “Submit.” Scroll down, enter booster information, and click “Submit” to complete the requirement. A how-to guide also has been created.
MSU reserves the right to require further verification or documentation if needed.
If a student is not fully compliant, a COVID-19 directive compliance hold is placed on their account. The hold prevents students from accessing grades, enrolling in or changing courses and receiving financial aid refunds.
Employees who violate the vaccine requirement may be subject to discipline, including termination from the university.Yes, the vaccine verification form allows you to make edits multiple times and will recognize your most recent response.
Exemptions to the vaccine and booster requirement will be limited. The exemptions are:
Individuals with an existing medical or religious exemption from the original vaccine mandate also are exempt from the booster requirement. Online-only exemptions for students are only approved for one semester at a time; students wanting such an exemption will need to apply for each semester.
New requests for online-only, religious and medical exemptions may be made for the booster requirement. Again, those who already have religious or medical exemptions will remain exempt from the booster requirement. You do not need to file another request.
More information on exemptions can be found here.
The Early Detection Program has ended. Those with an approved medical or religious exemption are not required to participate in testing.
For the vaccine mandate, MSU will only accept all FDA-approved or -authorized and WHO-approved vaccines. Per the CDC, individuals can receive an FDA-approved or -authorized vaccine 28 days after receiving a noncompliant vaccine outside of the United States. Individuals coming to MSU from outside of the United States will be given a grace period to receive a compliant vaccine if necessary.
For more information visit https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/vaccines/booster-shot.html.
If a vaccine or booster is not medically available in the country someone is residing, learning or working, they should submit a request for a medical exemption at https://covidresponse.msu.edu/vaccine-queue/queue.
Individuals can report, anonymously, to the MSU Misconduct Hotline (800-763-0764). They will need to provide the date, time and location involved.
MSU is requiring students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19, with limited medical and religious exemptions for all, as well as exemptions for students if they are taking online-only classes and will not be on property owned or governed by MSU for any reason.
If you are seeking an exemption, you MUST fill out the vaccine verification form and request your exemption using that link. If you already have submitted a medical or religious exemption request and it has been approved or denied, your status continues and remains in effect indefinitely.
Students approved for an online-only class exemption cannot come to any MSU property during the semester, for any reason. Those in violation will face discipline, including and up to expulsion.
With the start of the 2022 summer semester May 16, MSU lifted its face covering directive, and masks no longer are required indoors. There still may be limited situations where masks may be required, such as in campus health care facilities or due to state/federal regulations or contracts. The federal regulation for public transportation, including on CATA buses, has expired.
Yes, masks do need to be worn at the Veterinary Medical Center.
Some members of our community may ask you to wear a mask when you interact with them due to special health concerns. As individuals make their personal decisions about health and safety, we should respect their decisions.
Also, it is important to remember that many in our Spartan community will choose to wear a face covering for their protection.
Yes, so long as that student applies for, receives an online-only exemption and is not coming to campus for any reason.
A student with an appropriately approved medical or religious exemption will be allowed to attend in-person classes or have appropriate accommodations made if available. A student who declines vaccinations and does not have an approved exemption, will not be allowed to attend in-person courses.
Course modalities are determined by the instructor in consultation with their departments. Students who want or need to take all of their classes online must choose classes that are offered as online courses. Faculty are not obligated or expected to change course modalities to suit individual student’s needs or preferences.
All students living in the residence halls or on-campus apartments will be required to isolate if they test positive for COVID-19. Students with approved vaccine exemptions also will need to quarantine if they are exposed to COVID-19. While some isolation and quarantine space is being provided by the university during the summer 2022 semester, the university will not have the capacity to provide space in the fall.
No. Students only are required to provide the dates of their vaccination dose(s), type of vaccination and location of vaccination site. The university reserves the right to request further verification/documentation. Students do not need to provide proof of vaccination to instructors, advisers or supervisors.
Only if they have received an authorized exemption. Students who have not received an exemption must either receive the vaccine and booster or they cannot take part in any in-person activities and classes.
No. Employees are required to provide the dates of their vaccination dose(s) and type of vaccination using the vaccine verification form. The university reserves the right to request or seek further verification/documentation. Employees do not need to provide proof of vaccination to supervisors.
No. Even employees who have previously arranged with their supervisor to work fully remotely must be vaccinated or apply for a medical or religious exemption.
Course modalities are determined by the instructors in consultation with their departments. Students who want or need to take all of their classes online must choose classes that are offered as online courses. Faculty are not obligated or expected to change course modalities to suit individual student’s needs or preferences. Instructors and their departments should work together to help students who are impacted by the pandemic, but a student’s unwillingness to be vaccinated outside of accepted medical or religious reasons is not a basis for an instructor to offer online options for students to take a class.
No, the expectation is that everyone will be vaccinated or have an appropriately approved medical or religious exemption. Students should not be asked about their vaccine status by instructors, supervisors, staff or other students.