2021-22 Academic Year Information

Greetings Sarah Lawrence community,

We are writing to you to provide an update regarding COVID-19 cases on campus, as well as information on COVID-19 testing, isolation and quarantine procedures, and health practices to mitigate infection as we enter the Thanksgiving break period. We have seen a rise in positive cases on campus similar to the spike in cases currently in our region. As a reminder, you can track COVID cases on campus and in our region on our testing dashboard.

To manage positive COVID cases on campus, the College is following CDC and Westchester County Department of Health guidelines:

People who test positive, regardless of vaccination status, are placed in isolation for 10 days. Residential students isolate in a dedicated on-campus isolation space; commuter students isolate at their off-campus residence.

The SLC Health & Wellness Center, in conjunction with the Westchester Department of Health, is managing contact tracing for people who were in close contact (within 6 feet for more than 15 minutes) with a person who tests positive.

Close contacts who are VACCINATED are instructed to:

• Test 3- 5 days after exposure if asymptomatic; if symptoms develop, test right away
• Continue to wear a mask and employ socially distancing
• Vaccinated individuals do not need to quarantine

Close contacts who are UNVACCINATED are instructed to:

• Quarantine for 10 days while monitoring for symptoms
  • The College provides quarantine space on campus for residential students
•  Test 3- 5 days after exposure if asymptomatic; if symptoms develop, test right away

Students with any symptoms consistent with COVID, cold, or flu should continue to make an appointment with the Health & Wellness Center for clinical assessment and, if advised, testing.

On-Campus Testing
The College continues to offer testing for asymptomatic students, faculty, and staff through safeCircle. You can register and schedule a test using the unique link sent to your SLC email on October 8 and again on November 17. You must register using the unique link sent to you; do not share this link with others.

Staying Safe Over Thanksgiving Break
As we approach the Thanksgiving break, community members are encouraged to limit travel, wear masks when indoors, and avoid crowded spaces. Please visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Holiday Celebrations website for advice on holiday gatherings and travel.

The College continues to require all community members to wear a mask when indoors except when actively eating. Only residential students are permitted in living areas and parties are not permitted. For more information regarding campus policies and guidelines, please see the SLC COVID-19 Community Pledge.

As always, thank you for your commitment to each other and to the safety of our community.

Sincerely,

Kim Ferguson
Danny Trujillo

Dear Students,

First and foremost, we hope everyone in the path of Tropical Storm Henri is safe and well. We recognize that the timing of this storm in relation to registration is causing some concern for many of you who may be impacted in the form of power outages or, in the case of our early arrivals, delayed move-in. We are writing today to assure you that there is no cause for concern; our top priority is ensuring that all students have an equal opportunity to participate in the registration process, and we are prepared to adjust the registration period should Henri’s impact cause widespread power or internet outages. Should the storm’s impact be less widespread but severe for some, we are also prepared to support students on an individual basis.

As of right now, the registration process -- interviews, course selection, and course placements -- is proceeding as scheduled. Please review the registration information on MySLC for a reminder about the schedule over the coming days. 

As we monitor the storm’s track and impact, any adjustments to the registration timeline will be communicated to you via email and online at slc.edu/status, so please monitor these spaces for updates.

Sincerely,

Kanwal Singh
Provost and Dean of Faculty

Danny Trujillo
Dean of Studies and Student Life

Dear Students and Families,

As we approach the start of the fall semester, I wanted to pause in the midst of our mutual planning and preparations to offer words of welcome. This point in the summer always fills me with excitement and anticipation for the start of the new academic year. This year, I am especially excited to welcome new students and eager to welcome back returning students as we reconvene, primarily in person, as “Sarah Lawrence Together”.

My start-of-year excitement is paired this year with deep gratitude for the patience, grace, and empathy members of our community continue to display as we navigate the ongoing uncertainty of a global pandemic.

Earlier this summer, most of us hoped that by now we would be past using phrases like “ongoing uncertainty,” but as you are well aware, the trajectory of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve. Our faculty and staff have been working tirelessly to plan and prepare for our first primarily in-person semester in 18 months, deeply mindful of our students’ experience, both over the last year and a half and as we go forward, and deeply cognizant of the challenges still posed by the pandemic. I want to acknowledge that many of you may have been frustrated at times this summer by the pace at which you have received some information from us. This is particularly true of housing assignments, which have come (and in some cases are still coming) to students much later than usual. For those students still waiting for their housing assignments, first year housing assignments will be posted on Monday, August 16, and we anticipate that all remaining housing assignments will be posted by Wednesday, August 18. Ensuring that we had documentation of vaccination for students who would be living on or coming to campus, planning appropriately regarding the amount of campus housing to reserve for potential isolation and quarantine, adapting as students’ study away plans were canceled, and responding to a historically high level of requests for on-campus housing all played a part in the delay as we have sought to allocate housing in a way that minimizes the possibility of subsequent changes or disruption.

I strongly encourage you to continue to monitor our fall semester information site to see the latest updates, communications, and answers to frequently asked questions as we move forward. We will use that as a prime repository of timely and critical information. Student safety remains top of mind as we prepare to regather in person, particularly as the Delta variant continues to surge in areas around the country and the world. In response to this, as was shared with the community last week, effective Monday all individuals on campus, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to mask indoors in shared spaces. In addition, to fully understand the health of our community at the start of the semester, we will administer rapid COVID-19 tests to all residential students at check-in on their move-in day; any student who tests positive will move into isolation housing, and College staff will support their academic and personal needs. We are also requesting that students submit a negative COVID test within 72 hours in advance of their arrival on campus. Finally, we have strongly encouraged vaccination for faculty and staff, and I’m proud to report that, as of today, 94% of faculty and staff are fully vaccinated.

As we remain laser-focused on logistics to support the health and safety of our community, we are also focused on being a community—an in-person community—once again. That certainly is one source of excitement for me as I look ahead to fall. There is much going on as we ramp up toward the start of the semester, particularly for our new students and families. This week, I joined faculty members in leading First Year Reads sessions; this year’s selected book is Interior Chinatown by Charles Yu, if you would like to join me in reading it! (A conversation with Charles Yu on September 28 will kick off our academic year event series, which this year will bear the theme, Belonging; more on that soon.) Next week will be busy, too: on Monday, I look forward to meeting parents and families of new students at our virtual welcome event with Provost Singh and Dean Trujillo, and on Wednesday our five-sessionBelonging at SLC program for first year students kicks off, which serves as an introduction to college life. So before our new students step on to campus, they will already be well on the way to becoming part of this community.

I am particularly mindful that our returning students—our sophomores, juniors, and seniors—are all coming into this academic year with vastly different experiences in terms of time spent on campus. The one thing you all have in common, though, is that your college years thus far have been marked by some amount of disruption and disappointment wrought by the pandemic. I look forward to our community enjoying a more traditional togetherness this fall. While COVID will continue to impact our lives, our experiences over the last year and a half have us well prepared to share the excellent Sarah Lawrence education you expect in a safe, effective way. We have taken what we’ve learned—including a few, powerful “silver linings”—from these last 18 months along with the adaptability and nimbleness with which we’ve needed to respond to improve our students’ experience in several ways. You will first see this in a couple weeks when you take part in online, pre-semester interviews and registration, as well as when you move on to campus.

I look forward to welcoming you—or welcoming you back—to Sarah Lawrence in just a few short weeks!

Yours,

Cristle Collins Judd
President

Greetings Students,

As we continue to monitor guidance from health and government officials regarding COVID-19 and the Delta variant, we are writing to share some updates to the College’s COVID policies and protocols for the fall semester.

While we anticipate that the high level of vaccination among faculty, staff, and students will significantly mitigate COVID-19 transmission on campus, we are taking additional measures to protect our community. Effective Monday, August 16, the College will require all faculty, staff, students, and campus visitors to wear masks indoors, regardless of vaccination status. The exception to this policy will be for individuals dining indoors, students in their own residence rooms/apartments, and faculty or staff in a private office. Unvaccinated individuals will also be required to wear masks outside when gathering with others.

In order to ensure that we have a full understanding of our community’s health at the start of the semester, the College is strongly recommending that all students, both residential and commuter, be tested for COVID-19 within 72 hours of their first day on campus. In addition to this recommendation, the College will conduct rapid COVID-19 tests for all residential students at check-in on their move-in day. Any student who tests positive for COVID-19 at check-in will be placed in an isolation room immediately, and college staff will assist them with their academic and personal needs during the duration of their isolation.

As a reminder, move-in dates for residential students are:

• Thursday, September 2, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.:
  First year and new transfer students 

• Friday, September 3, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.:
  Sophomores

• Saturday, September 4, 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.:
  Juniors and Seniors

More information will be shared about the move-in process the week of August 16th, and housing assignments will be provided to first year students and sophomores by the week of August 16.

We are eager to be together on campus as a community this fall, and we know that conditions have improved significantly since last year with widespread access to effective vaccines. (As a reminder, all students are required to provide proof of vaccination; if you have not yet done this, please login to MySLC and do so immediately, as the deadline has passed.) We also recognize that many within our community continue to experience uncertainty about what the fall semester will bring. Rest assured that the College’s COVID-19 Implementation Team continues to meet weekly and is closely monitoring campus and local conditions, evaluating new public health guidance as it emerges, and recommending adjustments to our COVID-19 policies when needed. As always, the College’s decision-making remains grounded in the desire to protect the safety and well-being of our community while providing access to an exceptional educational experience for our students.

We look forward to seeing you soon!

Sincerely,

Danny Trujillo
Dean of Studies and Student Life

Kim Ferguson
Dean of Graduate and Professional Programs

Dear Sarah Lawrence Students,

I hope you are enjoying the final weeks of summer and have been able to relax a bit as well as spend some time thinking ahead to the beginning of the fall semester. I am excited to welcome you to campus in September!

Today I am writing to provide some reminders and updates about the fall semester, including:

• Campus life for the fall semester
• Campus move-in and off-campus housing for commuters
• Important dates for students and families

As has been the case since the beginning of the pandemic, Sarah Lawrence’s plans are informed by current public health guidance. We are committed to prioritizing our community’s health and safety and empowering students to engage in the exceptional education for which the College is known.

Fall semester campus life
I would like to begin by first recognizing that the COVID-19 pandemic has been an ever-present force in your lives for the last eighteen months. As a result of widespread COVID-19 vaccine access in the United States and improvements in therapeutics, we are in a different position going into this academic year than we were last year. Despite this, many areas of the country are again seeing a rise in COVID-19 infections. We know that the pandemic will continue to impact some aspects of our campus operations as we plan for the fall semester and the College reserves the right to adjust these plans based upon updates to public health guidance.

Below is a summary of some key policies that we anticipate will be in place this fall:

• Consistent with last academic year, and students living on or commuting to campus will be required to adhere to all aspects of the Sarah Lawrence Community COVID-19 Pledge.
• The College is requiring COVID-19 vaccination for all enrolled students, with religious and medical exemptions provided on a case-by-case basis; students approved for 100% remote learning are also exempt from this requirement.  Students who are unvaccinated because of religious or medical exemptions will be required to participate in weekly surveillance testing through Health Services.  For more information on this requirement and guidance on how to submit your proof of vaccination, click here. MySLC log in is required.
• Consistent with New York State guidance, at this time fully vaccinated individuals are not required to wear a mask or face covering, with the exception of when they are riding in the campus shuttle.  Unvaccinated individuals, including those with religious or medical exemptions will be required to wear a mask while inside all campus facilities and transportation. With the current rise in COVID-19 cases around the country and in Westchester County, mask wearing is strongly recommended for all people, regardless of vaccination status, when indoors and unable to maintain social distancing. Masking requirements for all students may be adjusted as appropriate to meet changing circumstances and public health recommendations.
• The College has dedicated space on campus for isolation and quarantine for residential students who test positive for COVID or are exposed to someone who has tested positive. Consistent with CDC guidance, any student, regardless of vaccination status, who tests positive for COVID-19 or is symptomatic and pending the result of a COVID-19 test, will be required to Isolate.  Vaccinated students who are exposed to COVID-19 and are asymptomatic, will not be required to quarantine. Quarantine will be required for unvaccinated students who are exposed to COVID-19.  Please click here for more information about isolation and quarantine policies.
• Residential students will be permitted to visit each other in campus residences.  To promote health and safety, no other visitors, including commuter students, will be permitted in student residence halls.
• The College anticipates participating in all athletic competitions and will follow New York State and NCAA health guidance as necessary.

For additional details on these policies and for more information about what to expect this fall, please visit the College’s website.

Move-in and Off-Campus Housing
For those who will be living on campus, we are looking forward to seeing you in person on September 2, 3, or 4! All students will receive their housing assignments with move-in details in August.  When your housing assignment has been finalized, your placement will be available in the Student Tab of MySLC.

Students will be allowed up to one vehicle and two guests to help with their move-in (any guests assisting with move-in will be required to comply with the College’s COVID-19 protocols such as masking for unvaccinated individuals, and are limited to a three-hour window on campus). For a suggested packing list and information about shipping items to campus, please visit our “What should I bring with me?” MySLC page.

For those who will be living off campus, the College has developed a page with resources to assist with locating off-campus housing.  Please visit this link for more information.

Important Dates for Students and Families
A few reminders of key dates and deadlines for students and families are below.

• Proof of COVID-19 vaccination was due on July 8.  Students who have not met this deadline must submit proof of vaccination or contact Health Services no later than July 29, in order to avoid losing eligibility to live on campus this fall.
• Fall 2021 bills were due on July 15.  Returning students who have not yet paid or established payment plans through Student Accounts must do so by July 29 to avoid losing eligibility to live on campus this fall.
• President Judd will host a virtual pre-arrival welcome for families of incoming students on Monday, August 16th at 6 pm.  Event details will be sent to students and families soon.
• Family Weekend will take place on October 22nd & 23rd.  We are looking forward to safely welcoming families to campus and more details will be forthcoming. A copy of the College’s full academic calendar, including dates for registration and breaks is available here.

Thank you for your attention to these important details as we prepare for a successful academic year ahead.  We are very much looking forward to welcoming you all to campus soon!

Regards,

Danny Trujillo
Dean of Studies and Student Life

[Please note: The August 9 email above communicates an updated mask policy that replaces the policy communicated in the earlier letter below]

Dear Members of the Sarah Lawrence Community,

As we enter into the summer months and continue our planning and preparations for the fall 2021 semester and 2021-22 academic year, we are writing to share an important update and provide a reminder about Sarah Lawrence’s COVID-19 policies.

Campus Mask Policy
In mid-May, the CDC updated its guidance regarding mask wearing for vaccinated individuals, stating that, with some exceptions (mass transit, hospitals, and air travel, for example), vaccinated individuals do not need to wear a face mask nor practice social distancing in both outdoor and indoor settings. New York State has since adopted this new guidance. Consistent with these recommendations, Sarah Lawrence College will update its mask policy, effective June 1, 2021, and vaccinated individuals may be on campus and inside campus buildings without a mask. Individuals who are not fully vaccinated, regardless of possible medical or religious exemptions, must continue to wear face coverings and adhere to social distancing requirements, at all times, both indoors and outdoors.

While we anticipate the above general policy to be in place for the summer (pending any changes in circumstances), there is one notable caveat. The College will welcome EXPLO summer camp to campus at the end of June. NYS has issued specific guidance regarding COVID-19 safety protocols for youth summer camps, and all EXPLO camp participants and instructors, regardless of vaccination status, will wear a face covering. As part of this policy, all SLC community members and contractors, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask when interacting with or in close proximity to EXPLO students and staff.

Following more than a year of mask wearing, this shift in guidance, understandably, may feel abrupt. Many vaccinated individuals in our community may be uncomfortable foregoing a mask. This is a personal choice and the College supports the continued use of masks for those individuals with this preference. The CDC also recommends that vaccinated individuals with weakened immune systems consult with their physician about whether they should continue taking appropriate precautions, including wearing a mask.

Guidance from the CDC and State may change during the summer and the College will continue to closely monitor these developments. At this time, it is the College’s intent for the above mask policy to be effective through the summer, to be updated and/or extended prior to the start of the fall semester to provide additional guidance regarding the classroom environment and other components of life at Sarah Lawrence.

Reporting of COVID-19 Vaccination
As of today, more than 60% of Sarah Lawrence’s faculty and regular staff have reported that they are fully vaccinated for COVID-19 - a far higher rate than New York’s vaccination rate.  As a reminder, employees who are fully vaccinated should report their vaccination status via MySLC, as doing so will be essential in our planning for the coming months. (Log in is required).

The deadline for students to submit a copy of their official vaccination card, indicating completion of the COVID-19 vaccination series is July 8, 2021 (to coincide with the College’s housing process).  To submit proof of vaccination, students should log into the Health & Wellness Patient Portal, enter their vaccination date(s) by clicking on the “immunizations” tab, and upload a photo of their official vaccination card by clicking on the “upload” tab. If students are unable to be vaccinated by then and/or they live in a country where the vaccine is not available, they should reach out to Health & Wellness to discuss their personal circumstances and receive an extension, if appropriate. More information about the College’s vaccination policy is available here.

Thank you for all that you have done to support each other and our community during the last year, and as we look ahead towards next academic year, we wish you a restful and recuperative summer.

Sincerely,

Daniel Trujillo, Dean of Studies and Student Life
Kim Ferguson, Dean of Graduate and Professional Programs
Danielle Coscia, Vice President for Human Resources & Organizational Development

Dear Members of the Sarah Lawrence Community,

We are writing today with an important update for the fall 2021 semester. As you know, our plan is to return to primarily in-person engagement in the fall, and our hope is that most of you are planning to return to campus. While we expect that COVID-19 will still have some impact on our daily lives when the semester starts, as we continue to see increases in the supply of and access to vaccines, we are filled with great hope that the next academic year will be more akin to life before the pandemic.

To ensure the safest experience for all on campus, the College will require all residential and commuter students -- both undergraduate and graduate -- to be vaccinated against COVID-19 prior to arriving on campus for the fall semester. Exceptions will be granted for students who cannot be vaccinated due to approved medical or religious exemptions. Students residing outside the United States must receive a vaccine approved for use in the U.S. (thus far Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson/Janssen). [Note: The AstraZeneca/Oxford vaccine is now also accepted to satisfy the vaccination requirement.]

The deadline for students to submit a copy of their official vaccination card, indicating completion of the COVID-19 vaccination series, is July 8, 2021. To submit proof of vaccination, students should log into the Health & Wellness Patient Portal, enter their vaccination date(s) by clicking on the “immunizations” tab, and upload a photo of their official vaccination card by clicking on the “upload” tab.

We are currently monitoring federal and state regulations pertaining to vaccination requirements for faculty and staff, and will communicate any updates on that as they become available. Faculty and staff should report their completed vaccination on MySLC. The College strongly encourages everyone to get vaccinated as soon as possible.

The Sarah Lawrence community has done an exceptional job throughout the pandemic of following necessary precautions to keep themselves and each other safe. We believe a fully vaccinated student population is our best next step to ensure a productive, engaging, and enjoyable fall semester for all.

Sincerely,

Mary Hartnett                                                                     
Director of Medical Services
Health & Wellness Center                                         

Danny Trujillo
Dean of Studies and Student Life