Charlotte

The university is recommending but not requiring COVID-19 shots for students, faculty, & staff. The university continues to follow state guidance in terms of mask-wearing. Students who test positive throughout the academic year will be instructed to isolate in place and to mask for an additional five days after isolation has ended. Masking is not required on campus but is a great way to reduce the transmission of all viruses; masks will still be required in Health Services offices if you have any respiratory or GI complaint, and/or at the discretion of the provider or nurse.

Mask-wearing, regardless of an individual’s vaccination status, is optional on our campus and no longer required inside or outside buildings. Please be advised that anyone who feels more comfortable wearing a mask (a KN95 mask is recommended) on campus is supported in doing so. We also encourage all students, faculty and staff to continue carrying masks on them. Please note: the university still requires masks in Health Services offices if you have any respiratory or GI complaint, and/or at the discretion of the provider or nurse.

You can.

Once you've taken an at-home test, here's what you should do:

• Take a picture of the test strip.
  • If there is room on your test strip, write your name and the date you took the test on it.
  • If there isn’t room on the test strip, write just the date you took the test on the test strip. Then write your name on a piece of paper and take a picture of both the test strip and the paper with your information on it in one photo.
• Submit your photo to Health Services via the Medicat Portal
  • Go to jwu.medicatconnect.com > Uploads > Select the photo of your test and information > 2019 Novel Coronavirus > Upload

If you are a student on the Providence Campus and your result is positive, call Health Services at 401-598-1104 or 401-598-1151. Health Services will instruct you on quarantine/isolation guidelines and assist you with any questions you may have. Positive or negative, you should also submit your result to the Rhode Island Department of Health by going to https://portal.ri.gov/gettested/s/selftest?language=en_US and filling out the required fields.

If you are a student on the Charlotte Campus and your result is positive, email Health Services (hcs.clt@jwu.edu) with your best contact information and any information about symptoms, course of illness, and contacts. Health Services will contact you by phone to provide instructions on quarantine/isolation guidelines and assist you with any questions you may have.

*This does not apply to JWU employees (faculty and staff) who are unvaccinated. They must continue to be tested on-campus or in another monitored testing situation.

Once you have your test results from either a medical provider or testing site (or an at-home test), you should:

• Submit a photo of those results to Health Services via the Medicat Portal
  • Go to jwu.medicatconnect.com > Uploads > Select the photo of your test and information > 2019 Novel Coronavirus > Upload

At this time, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) maintains that vaccines are still the best public health measure to protect people from COVID-19, slow transmission, and reduce the likelihood of new variants emerging. Right now, about 95 percent of our Providence campus population is fully vaccinated. Boosters are still an important part of this process and are strongly encouraged as you are eligible for them.

Students are required to upload their medical records of their COVID-19 vaccination into the Medicat Student Patient Portal. The university will not accept student vaccination records via email.

To upload medical records verifying COVID-19 vaccinations, visit jwu.medicatconnect.com and follow these steps:

• Enter your JWU log in
• Once the portal is open, click Upload
• Select 2019 Novel Coronavirus (Covid 19), NAA (Third Party) from the drop down menu
• To upload take a photo or screenshot of your vaccination card with your phone, email that to yourself, open your email up on your computer, then you can drag/drop or browse for the file that you would then upload to the portal.

Faculty and staff are required to provide Human Resources with a copy of their vaccination card.

Anyone who has been granted an exemption from this requirement for medical or religious reasons will continue to be required to go through sentinel testing.

According to the CDC, people who completed all of the recommended doses of a COVID-19 vaccine listed for emergency use by WHO but not approved or authorized by FDA, or people who completed a heterologous (mix and match) series composed of doses of a COVID-19 vaccine listed for emergency use by WHO, at least one of which is a non-FDA-approved or authorized vaccine, are considered fully vaccinated 2 weeks after completion of the series.

Regarding a booster shot, the CDC says people 18 years or older (including moderately or severely immunocompromised people who received an additional primary dose) should receive a single booster dose of Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 Vaccine at least 6 months after completing their primary series of one of these vaccines. 

For more, head to cdc.gov/vaccines.

Recently, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH) made changes to their quarantine guidelines. We will continue to follow the state’s guidance and encourage you to stay up to date by visiting covid.ri.gov, and we will continue to update this website.

As of March 2023, these are the recommendations: 

• If you have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, take precautions regardless of your vaccination status or if you have had a previous infection.
  • After being exposed, start precautions immediately.
  • Test of Day 6, at least five full days following you exposure, whether or not you've developed symptoms.
  • Wear a mask as soon as you find out you were exposed and continue to wear a high quality (N95) and well fitting mask for 10 days.  The mask should be worn anytime you are around others and are indoors, including your home (dorm). 
  • Watch for symptoms that include fever, cough, and shortness of breath.  If you develop symptoms isolate immediately and contact a healthcare provider to be tested.
• If you test positive, stay home for at least 5 days and isolate from others in your home.

Recently, both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services (NC DHHS) made changes to their quarantine guidelines. NC DHHS has adopted the CDC guidance, and that is what we will follow. Read more about these new CDC guidelines.

As of September 2022, these are the recommendations: 

• If you have been exposed to someone who tested positive for COVID-19, take precautions regardless of your vaccination status or if you have had a previous infection.
• After being exposed, start precautions immediately.
• Wear a mask as soon as you find out you were exposed and continue to wear a high quality (N95) and well fitting mask for 10 days.  The mask should be worn anytime you are around others and are indoors, including your home (dorm). 
• Watch for symptoms that include fever, cough, and shortness of breath.  If you develop symptoms isolate immediately and contact a healthcare provider to be tested.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say individuals who received a Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna COVID-19 vaccine are eligible for a booster shot at 6 months or more after their initial series if they are: 18 years or older and have underlying medical conditions; 18 years or older and work or live in high-risk settings; 18 years or older and live in long-term care settings; 65 years and older.

Anyone who received the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, booster shots are also recommended for those who are 18 and older and who were vaccinated two or more months ago.

There are now booster recommendations for all three available COVID-19 vaccines in the United States. Eligible individuals may choose which vaccine they receive as a booster dose. Some people may have a preference for the vaccine type that they originally received, and others may prefer to get a different booster. CDC’s recommendations now allow for this type of mix and match dosing for booster shots.

We understand some in our community fall into one or more of the above categories; those who are eligible for booster shots can schedule a vaccination appointment by visiting VaccineFinder.org or PlanYourVaccine.com to see availability in their state.

Students can upload their vaccine information using the university’s Medicat Student Patient Portal. To do so, visit: jwu.medicatconnect.com.

Students in need of assistance may also contact their campus’ Health Services office.

People ages 12 and older are eligible for the FDA-approved Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine (two shots).

Ages 18+ are eligible for the Moderna vaccine (two shots) and the Johnson & Johnson vaccine (one shot).

Those who wish to schedule a vaccination appointment can visit VaccineFinder.org or PlanYourVaccine.com to see availability in their state.

Students in need of assistance may also contact their campus’ Health Services office.

Students who live off-campus and are enrolled in online classes are encouraged to get the vaccine to support in-person connections with campus. Students who decide they do not wish to be vaccinated should complete the exemption form and will be expected to abide by the safety protocols that are in place for unvaccinated individuals.

Students traveling from their home countries who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19—i.e., those who have received all recommended doses of a vaccination approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or the World Health Organization (WHO) at least 14 days prior to arriving on campus—are permitted to attend the university and live on and visit campus. Evidence of full vaccination must be uploaded using the university’s Medicat Student Patient Portal. To do so, visit: jwu.medicatconnect.com.  As of November 8, 2021, international students are required to be fully vaccinated and to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination status prior to boarding an airplane to fly to the U.S. with only limited exceptions. For more information on this, read these latest details on air travel guidelines from The White House.

Guidance can vary from state to state and be modified at any point in time. The university will continue to comply with state guidance. The Centers for Disease Control continues to update its guidance on a weekly basis, advising which activities and practices are encouraged for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Learn more.

We encourage students to establish a common understanding regarding how they plan to live together as roommates, including matters related to minimizing the risk of COVID-19 infection within their room.  Should you need help, residential life team members will be available to assist you and your roommate.

Cleaning and sanitizing measures will continue to be a priority and will be modified based on the most recent federal, state and local guidance. Throughout campus, students, faculty and staff will continue to see hand disinfectant and sanitation wipe stations in high traffic areas and frequently touched surfaces. Classrooms and large common assembly areas will be cleaned on a regular schedule and all common bathrooms will be cleaned frequently.

Any and all visitors to a JWU campus are expected to follow the university’s safety protocols for vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals. Students, faculty and staff who host a visitor are expected to inform guests of any requirements currently in place.

The Academic Success Center offers tutoring services for a variety of core courses.  Students can connect with peer or professional tutors who are familiar with their course curriculum to enhance their classroom learning. Students can also meet with our professional Academic Success Center staff to review time management strategies, study strategies, note taking skills, or develop academic goals. While classes are offered remotely, Academic Success Center services will be offered remotely via zoom 7 days a week.  Appointments can be made through USucceed or by calling the appointment line at 401.598.1485. Students also have access to Smarthinking, a 24/7 professional tutoring service that allows students to speak with real online educators and access tutorials, writing manuals, sample problems, research tools, study manuals, and more. Smarthinking may be accessed through jwuLink and ulearn.

Students also are encouraged to prepare for remote classes by reading  Remote Learning Success Tips . Faculty members will also be available to meet with students via online conferencing tools.  

Students required to quarantine are expected to abide by the directions and follow all guidance that they have received. Quarantining is not optional and is required by state mandates. During this confined period of time, students are encouraged to utilize university virtual services, such as the library, that are available to them, and to stay connected to family and friends through various electronic means. As members of the JWU community, it is up to all to abide by the guidelines that have been put in place to help keep our community and those around us safe. If members of the JWU community become aware of a possible violation of a quarantine or self-isolation, they should follow the appropriate reporting process.

The university developed a COVID Code of Conduct that, like the JWU Student Code of Conduct, applies to all on and off-campus students. The university will continue to share most up-to-date information regarding COVID-19 screening, testing, contact tracing, face coverings, and social distancing protocols.

JWU Health Services suggests following the below guidelines.

External checklist:

• Wash hands often.
• Utilize face coverings/masks 
• Keep a physical distance of 6 feet.
• Follow cough/sneeze etiquette.
• Stay home when sick.

Internal checklist:

• Sleep six to eight hours per night.
• Exercise daily.
• Eat a balanced diet of lean proteins, whole grains and fresh fruit and vegetables.
• Avoid alcohol and tobacco.
• Stay hydrated.
• Keep stress levels low by doing something you enjoy every day, such as deep breathing exercises, meditation, going outside for walks, etc.
• Consider taking supplements like a multivitamin, Echinacea, probiotic, Vitamins A, C, and E.
• Get vaccinated for the flu when available.

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