Vaccination requirements and student access to Blackboard

Dear students,

Several months ago, the University of Illinois System made the decision to require COVID-19 vaccinations for all students, faculty and staff who planned to be on campus this fall. With the recent FDA approval of the Pfizer vaccine and Gov. J.B. Pritzker’s mandate that all higher education personnel and students be vaccinated, we remain confident that vaccination is the safest and most effective means to protect everyone in our community.

In order to enforce these requirements, students who have not reported their vaccination status through UIC Healthcheck are not allowed on campus. You can update your status at any time.

Students who must add or drop fall semester 16-week classes must do so by Sunday, Sept. 5, at 11:59 p.m. using the XE Registration system (available via my.UIC.edu). Sunday is also the deadline to drop all classes in the 16-week term with a 100% refund. If you have questions, please contact Registration Services by Friday, Sept. 3.

Students should be aware that not all courses have the option to participate and fulfill the requirements remotely or online. As mentioned in previous communications, students who cannot come to campus should immediately contact the instructor of record to determine whether:

• There are required in-person course components and/or examinations.
• Their class will be live-streamed and/or video recorded.
• There are other mechanisms to obtain course content.

And, using this information, students need to decide whether it’s feasible for them to continue to be enrolled in a particular course in the Fall semester or consult their General and Departmental Academic Advisors to discuss adjustment to their Fall 2021 registration (by Friday, Sept. 3 without penalty) or to discuss future course planning and their timeline to graduation.

Students who have not complied with campus health and safety requirements, including not disclosing vaccination status or not participating in required saliva testing if they have a COVID-19 vaccination exemption, and who continue to come to campus will lose access to Blackboard in the next 7-10 days. A reminder will be placed on the Blackboard login page to help remind everyone of this repercussion.  Students may also be referred to the Dean of Students to proceed with measures described in the Student Disciplinary Policy.

If you have not been vaccinated, you can still take advantage of free, convenient vaccination appointments available on campus. For more information about COVID-19 vaccination at UIC/UI Health or to make an appointment, visit vaccine.uihealth.care. If you have any questions about making a vaccine appointment, please visit covidvaccine@uic.edu. You can also find COVID-19 vaccination appointments or walk-in hours at a location near you by visiting vaccines.gov.

Sincerely,

Javier Reyes
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

J. Rex Tolliver
Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs

Cc: UIC faculty