COVID-19 Information

The Spring 2023 Plan is now available.

The attached document outlines our plans for the Spring 2022 semester to mitigate the ongoing effects of COVID-19. There, you will find summaries of our new and continuing procedures and protocols that have been designed with the safety of our community as our top priority.

There is a significant possibility that certain details in the Plan will shift in coming days and weeks in response to rapidly changing circumstances, and your patience and understanding is appreciated.

Fall 2021 Plan

The attached document outlines our plans for the Fall 2021 semester to mitigate the ongoing effects of COVID-19. There, you will find summaries of our new and continuing procedures and protocols that have been designed with the safety of our community as our top priority.

There is a significant possibility that certain details in the Plan will shift in coming days and weeks in response to rapidly changing circumstances, and your patience and understanding is appreciated.

Vaccination Policy for Staff, Faculty, and Students

All students (residential and commuter), staff, and faculty are required to get a COVID-19 vaccine. This is a necessary to protect the health and safety of our community. The full announcement and exemption policy are available here and were announced on 5/20/21.

Face Mask Guidelines

Masks are encouraged everywhere indoors but will only be required in some limited situations, including classes and labs, but faculty are free to eliminate the mask requirement in their classes and labs. Faculty should inform students of their classroom masking policies. Elsewhere, persons with ‘authority in a space’ can set the masking policy in that space.

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COVID-19 Dashboard Spring 2023 Plan Resources Health and Wellness Center Previous Correspondence

Latest Correspondence

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COVID Update

3/18/2022

Students, faculty, and staff,

Our baseline testing is complete and virtually all eligible community members have taken a COVID test in the past several days. Only two positive cases were identified through the College’s testing program, and neither was a student. (Three other cases – one student and two employees – were identified through outside testing.) A low total of five cases in our population of nearly 2,000 people signifies that we are in a lower risk environment than the rest of the county, state, or region.

Based on these results, we will move forward with adjusting some of our COVID precautions on the schedule below. These changes are in line with the CDC guidance, including guidance for institutions of higher education, as well as Lake County Health Department guidance. Please understand that any significant increase in COVID on our campus may require the reinstatement of precautions we are now adjusting. We are closely watching the sub-variant of Omicron known as BA.2, and current outbreaks in other countries. As we know from previous experience, the situation in Europe often precedes the experience in the United States.

Effective Monday, March 21:

Masks are encouraged everywhere indoors but will only be required in the following limited situations:
- Classes and labs, but faculty are free to eliminate the mask requirement in their classes and labs.
- Elsewhere, persons with ‘authority in a space’ can set the masking policy in that space. Faculty and staff can require masks in their offices, students can require masks in their residence hall rooms, and event planners can designate certain events as ‘masks required.’ Signs are available at the following link for people to post in their spaces. Students are responsible to wear masks where required, consistent with this paragraph, and students who fail to do so will be entered into the student conduct process.
- Persons who are not fully vaccinated and boosted are strongly encouraged to wear their mask at all times.
- Faculty who have concerns based on personal circumstances and may need accommodation should contact their department chair and the Dean of Faculty. Staff who have concerns and may need accommodation should contact their supervisor and the Director of Human Resources. Students who, based on personal circumstances, would like masks to be worn in a particular campus space should speak with the faculty or staff member who has authority over that room or space. If that conversation does not resolve the situation, the student should then email coronavirus@lakeforest.edu for assistance.
The Dining Hall will welcome non-student guests in connection with the recruitment of new students, new faculty, or new staff.
Non-student guests are welcome to stay in Admissions-approved overnight hosting situations in student residence halls.
Randomized surveillance testing of 25% of the eligible population will continue for this week (March 21-25).
Proof of booster is due Friday, March 25. Instructions can be found on the COVID-19 website and in previous campus emails.

Next, additional adjustments will begin on March 26 and continue thereafter:

Those who missed the deadline to submit proof of their booster will now be required to get a weekly COVID test along with those who are unvaccinated due to exemptions. Health & Wellness staff will be in touch with the affected persons directly. Students who miss the deadline to submit proof of their booster will be entered into the student conduct process.
Contact tracing and quarantine for close contacts will cease. COVID-positive individuals will now be directed to inform their close contacts to get tested 5 days after their last exposure, either on campus or at a testing clinic near their home. The College will no longer place close contacts in quarantine. We will continue to require COVID-positive people to isolate as before, and in consultation with a College nurse they will be released on Day 6 with no COVID test needed unless a fever or symptoms persist, at which point the isolation will be extended to 10 days.
The Dining Hall will welcome faculty and staff.
Larger, in-person, indoor meetings that have been fully “remote” will flip to “in-person with the option of remote participation” (e.g. faculty meetings, all-staff meetings, committee meetings)

Additional details:

The tents on middle and south campus have arrived, and can be again reserved through Ad Astra.
Students who are sick are encouraged to visit Health & Wellness during business hours to get a COVID test and/or see a nurse.
Everyone should remember the substantial personal health benefits of continuing to wear a well-fitting medical-grade mask, as mask requirements are lifting around the country. Free KN95 masks are still available at Rosemary House. Learn more at this February 25 CDC briefing.

In closing, the College will continue to closely monitor the ongoing pandemic. If our cases spike at any time, we may need to reinstate any or all previous and current precautions. Thank you!

Stephen D. Schutt, President
Ravi Agarwal, Chief Information Officer
Andrea Conner, Vice President of Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Chris Ellertson, Vice President for Enrollment
DeJuran Richardson, Volwiler Professor and Senior Advisor to the President
Davis Schneiderman, Krebs Provost and Dean of the Faculty
Jackie Slaats, Vice President for Career Advancement and Athletics
Lori Sundberg, Vice President for Finance and Planning; Treasurer
Shawn Vogen, Vice President for Advancement; Secretary

COVID-19 Information

COVID-19 Information

Latest Correspondence

COVID Update

Effective Monday, March 21:

Next, additional adjustments will begin on March 26 and continue thereafter:

Additional details:

Download the Fall 2022 Plan

Download the Spring 2022 Plan

Download the Fall 2021 Plan

Download the Spring 2021 Plan

Q&A Sessions with College Leadership

Resources

Resources for Students

Resources for Faculty and Staff

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund Reporting

Athletics Updates