Penn State’s Faculty Senate on Wednesday afternoon passed a resolution recommending the university mandate COVID-19 vaccines for students and employees before returning to campus for the fall 2021 semester.
After nearly two hours of deliberations, the Faculty Senate voted 113-31 in favor of the resolution, which can be viewed in full here. The measure, which also notes exceptions for medical conditions and religious beliefs, reflects support for a mandate from the university’s faculty representation but it would be up to university administration to implement.
Provost and Executive Vice President Nick Jones said during a question-and-answer period that university administration has no intention at this time to require vaccines. Instead, he said, Penn State will focus on making the vaccine widely available to the university community and offering incentives to those who get it.
Some faculty senators with dissenting opinions said a vaccine mandate would be unfair, noting that current COVID-19 vaccines — unlike already-mandated vaccines for measles, mumps and rubella and meningitis — have been approved for emergency use only so far.
A group of “concerned [Penn State] Behrend faculty, staff and students,” wrote in a statement that the university “does not have the right to force anyone into it,” and threatened that some would take legal action or quit if the vaccine is required.
At least 341 colleges and universities nationwide will have a COVID-19 requirement of some kind, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. Among them are Big Ten schools Maryland, Rutgers, Northwestern and Michigan.
In late April, the University Park Undergraduate Association, which represents Penn State’s student body, voted 25-10-1 to support a potential COVID-19 vaccine mandate. A UPUA-sponsored survey of students this week found 60.03% of the 2,319 respondents would support a mandate.
UPUA President Erin Boas attended Wednesday’s meeting and voiced support for a mandate. UPUA College of Arts and Architecture representative Megan Neely said vaccine requirements would help students return to the campus experience they signed up for when they originally came to Penn State, citing a lack of meaningful in-person experiences this year as a major challenge.
Jones said that as the university has worked with the Department of Health and local providers to make the vaccine available to the Penn State community in recent months, it will continue to do so and encourage students and employees to get it — but has no plans right now to require it.
He said the university is looking at discounts on on-campus meals, drawings for on-campus housing upgrades, gift cards, concert tickets, and more as potential incentives for students. He added there would be incentives for employees as well.
Jones also noted that potential incentives would apply to both those who have already received vaccines and those who may in the future.
“All of these sound great, and we’re excited about the possibilities,” Jones said. “There are a lot of complexities in this as they relate to aid considerations or tax implications for employees. As simple as these are in concept, there’s a lot of details to be worked through in order to facilitate these being effective.”
Penn State previously indicated quarantine exemptions could also be an incentive for students who upload completed COVID-19 vaccine cards to University Health Services’ online portal.
Starting in June, Jones said Penn State could begin making decisions on restrictive measures relating to COVID-19 vaccinations. One example he offered was potentially requiring evidence of vaccination to purchase tickets for Penn State sporting events or move into dorms. He stressed, however, that administrators have not made any decisions relating to those potential measures and said they will monitor data over the next month before making any choices.
Jones said the university is also considering sending out surveys to students and employees to obtain Penn State-specific vaccine data. He said Penn State is currently unable to confidently estimate how many have already been vaccinated.
Asked whether faculty will have to option for remote instruction if vaccinations are not required, Jones replied that “the intention is to return to residential instruction in the fall.” He added that there is an exception process for those with qualifying circumstances.
