Ithaca College requiring student vaccinations for fall semester

ITHACA, N.Y. — Ithaca College is joining its neighbor Cornell University in requiring that students be vaccinated against the coronavirus before this fall’s semester.

Ithaca College (IC) President Shirley Collado announced the requirement in a message sent to the school community on Wednesday, announcing the college’s intention to “fully open for in-person, on-campus learning and living in the fall of 2021.”

“To support a resumption of this IC experience for our students with a significantly reduced risk of infection for all, the college plans to require all students who are attending this fall to be vaccinated,” Collado wrote. “Medical and religious exemptions will be accommodated, but it is expected that the vast majority of individuals on campus will be vaccinated.”

Cornell last Friday announced it plans to require COVID-19 vaccines for students returning to campus this fall.

With the return to in-person classroom instruction this fall, IC students should expect most of their coursework will be face-to-face, Collado noted. The risk of infection for the entire community can be “greatly diminished” because so many will have received the “protection of the vaccine,” she contended.

“Limited” online coursework will be available, “mirroring” the school’s pre-pandemic scheduling practices. IC’s fall classes begin Aug. 23 and the semester concludes Dec. 15.

Registration for the fall begins April 13 and continues through April 22.