Students and Employees
Subject to permitted exceptions, all SPU students and employees are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and are required to provide SPU with documentary proof of vaccination. This requirement was enforced in connection with the start of Autumn Quarter 2021 and continues to be enforced as new students and employees join SPU.
Students and employees have been permitted to request exemptions from the vaccination requirement for medical or religious reasons. Students who are only taking classes online may request a temporary deferral of the vaccination requirement. For additional information about the vaccination requirement for students and employees, including what it means to be “fully vaccinated,” for purposes of registration, how to submit documentary proof, how to request an exemption, and how to request a temporary deferral for online-only classes see the web page, Vaccination Requirements: FAQs.
Contractors
Governor Inslee’s Proclamation 21-14.3 requires that contractors fulfill COVID-19 vaccination requirements in order to be permitted to work on SPU’s campus after October 18, 2021. The proclamation defines "contractor" to include any person who provides goods or services pursuant to a contract with another person or entity (including SPU), and also to include subcontractors. A contractor is not subject to this requirement if the contractor is physically present at SPU for only a short period of time and any moments of close physical proximity to others at SPU are fleeting (e.g., a driver for a contracted shipping and delivery service briefly entering a site to pick up parcels for shipping).
The proclamation permits SPU to require contractors to sign a declaration that they are complying with the vaccination requirements stated in the proclamation, rather than have SPU verify the vaccination status of each member of a contractor’s staff individually. In September 2021, SPU’s Office of Facility and Project Management distributed notifications of SPU’s COVID-19 expectations to contractors with a copy of a declaration form for contractors to sign and return. Any SPU department that engages a contractor to work on campus should confirm that contractor received a copy of the declaration form and has returned a completed form, or the contractor will not be permitted to work on campus. Questions about requirements for contractors can be emailed to COVID19Plan@spu.edu.
Volunteers
Governor Inslee’s Proclamation 21-14.3 prohibits volunteers from providing voluntary service on SPU’s campus after October 18, 2021, unless SPU has confirmed that the volunteer has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or is eligible for a permitted exemption. To satisfy this requirement, each SPU department is required to take the following steps with respect to any person who volunteers on campus or in any off-campus university activity in any capacity with that department:
- Ask the volunteer to provide documentary evidence that the individual has been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.
- The only forms of acceptable evidence are: (a) CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Record Card or photo of the card; (b) Documentation of vaccination from a health care provider or electronic health record; or (c) State immunization information system record.
- A person is considered fully vaccinated against COVID-19 two weeks after they have received the second dose in a two-dose series of a COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use, licensed, or otherwise approved by the FDA (e.g., Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna) or two weeks after they have received a single-dose COVID-19 vaccine authorized for emergency use, licensed, or otherwise approved by the FDA (e.g., Johnson & Johnson/Janssen).
- If the volunteer can provide documentary evidence, have an SPU employee (other than a student employee) inspect the evidence, and document that the evidence has been inspected.
- SPU employees should not keep a copy of the documentary evidence that is provided. SPU employees should only create a record that includes the following information: (a) name of volunteer; (b) type of documentary evidence that proved full COVID-19 vaccination; (c) name of SPU employee who inspected the evidence; and (d) date of inspection.
- Each SPU department should send an email to COVID19Plan@spu.edu identifying any volunteer that the department has confirmed satisfies COVID-19 vaccination requirements.
- In general, SPU does not intend to grant religious or medical exemptions to volunteers, and requires that all volunteers on campus be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or that the voluntary service be provided remotely. However, if an SPU department wants to request that a volunteer for its area be considered for a religious or medical exemption, a representative of the department may email the COVID-19 Decision Group at COVID19Plan@spu.edu to inquire whether an exemption may be considered.
The proclamation does not define the term “volunteer” but suggests it includes anyone who engages in work on SPU's campus (other than an employee or contractor), unless the individual is physically present at SPU for only a short period of time and any moments of close physical proximity to others at SPU are fleeting. If an individual is a guest on campus (e.g., a guest speaker for a class who is not an employee and is not performing work pursuant to a written contract), then SPU does not believe the individual needs to be treated as a “volunteer” for purposes of the proclamation's vaccine requirement.
Visitors
In general, visitors are not required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination as a condition for being on SPU’s campus. However, the University reserves the right to require verification of vaccination at University events and activities, including if required by law to do so.