Guidance for Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs)

Introduction

This guidance is intended for any institution of higher education (IHE) that offers education or instruction beyond the high school level, such as colleges and universities, including community and technical colleges.

To determine your level of community transmission, please see CDC’s COVID Tracker.

This guidance is split into four sections to support IHEs in their decision making:

• Section 1: Offer and Promote COVID-19 Vaccination
• Section 2: Guidance for IHEs Where Everyone is Fully Vaccinated
• Section 3: Guidance for IHEs Where Not Everyone is Fully Vaccinated
• Section 4: General Considerations for All IHEs

IHE administrators can determine, in collaboration with tribal, state, local, and territorial public health officials and in accordance with applicable law, how to implement CDC guidance while considering the needs and circumstances of the IHE within the context of their local community. IHE administrators should take into account health equity considerations for promoting fair access to health. This guidance does not replace any applicable federal, state, tribal, local, or territorial health and safety laws, rules, and regulations with which IHEs must comply.

The Department of Education has a complementary handbook to this guidance ED COVID-19 Handbook Volume 3: Strategies for Safe Operation and Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 on Higher Education Students, Faculty, and Staff found here: https://www2.ed.gov/documents/coronavirus/reopening-3.pdfpdf iconexternal icon

Section 1: Offer and Promote COVID-19 Vaccination

IHEs can play a critical role in offering and promoting vaccination to help increase the proportion of students, faculty and staff that are vaccinated to help slow the spread of COVID-19 and prevent interruptions to in-person learning.

Vaccination is the leading prevention strategy to protect individuals from COVID-19 disease and end the COVID-19 pandemic. Current COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States are safe and effective, widely accessible in the U.S., and available at no cost to all people living in the U.S. Learn more about the Benefits of Getting a COVID-19 Vaccine.

IHEs can help increase vaccine uptake among students, faculty, and staff by providing information about and offering COVID-19 vaccination, promoting vaccine trust and confidence, and establishing supportive policies and practices that make getting vaccinated as easy and convenient as possible. IHE administrators may refer to CDC’s Workplace Vaccination Program as instructive to help prepare for campus vaccination.

To increase access to vaccines, IHEs can

• Provide on-site vaccination in IHE facilities or local vaccination sites through partnerships (e.g., existing occupational and student health clinics, IHE-run temporary vaccination clinics, mobile vaccination clinics brought to the IHE, etc.).
• Consider hosting a mass vaccination clinic or setting up smaller vaccine venues on campus to promote vaccination.
• Connect with your local or state health department or health system to learn what might be possible.
  • If you are not already working with your local or state health department, consider reaching out for assistance with promoting and implementing vaccinations within the IHE community. The local or state health department can assist with coordination of vaccination clinics and offer local vaccine expertise.
  • Refer to CDC guidance for help planning vaccination clinics held at satellite, temporary, or off-site locations.
  • Refer to the American College Health Association’s websiteexternal icon for a compilation of guidance and resources for hosting a mass vaccination clinic and other best practices.
• Use trusted messengers to promote vaccination, including current and former students.
• Consider offering multiple locations and vaccination times to accommodate student work and academic schedules.
• Facilitate access to off-site vaccination services in the community (e.g., pharmacies, mobile vaccination clinic set up in community locations, partnerships with local health departments, healthcare centers and other community clinics, partnerships with student organizations).
  • Visit vaccines.gov to find out where students can get vaccinated in your community and identify locations near to campus.
  • Offer free transportation to off-site vaccination sites for students who need assistance.
• Offer flexible, supportive sick leave options (e.g., paid sick leave), in accordance with applicable laws and IHE policies, for employees with side effects after vaccination. See CDC’s post-vaccination Considerations for Workplaces.
• Offer flexible excused absence options for students receiving vaccination and those with side effects after vaccination.

To promote vaccination, IHEs can

• Develop educational messaging for vaccination campaigns to build vaccine confidence and consider utilizing student leaders and athletes as spokespersons.
• Ask student and other organizations who are respected in IHE communities to help build confidence in COVID-19 vaccines and promote the benefits of getting vaccinated.
• Ask students, faculty, and staff to promote vaccination efforts in their social groups and their communities.

Certain communities and groups have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 illness and severe outcomes, and some communities might have had previous experiences that affect their trust and confidence in the healthcare system. Vaccine confidence may be different among students, faculty, and staff. IHE administrators should tailor communications and involve trusted community messengers, including those on social media, to promote vaccinations among those who may be hesitant to receive COVID-19 vaccination.

IHEs can consider verifying the vaccination status of their students, faculty, and staff. Administrators can determine vaccine record verification protocols, in accordance with state and local laws.

See COVID-19 Vaccine Toolkit for Institutions of Higher Education (IHE), Community Colleges, and Technical Schools for more information.

Section 2: Guidance for IHEs Where Everyone is Fully Vaccinated

This section is intended for IHEs that have a fully vaccinated campus. People who are fully vaccinated are at low risk of symptomatic or severe infection, and a growing body of evidence suggests that people who are fully vaccinated are less likely to have asymptomatic infection or transmit the virus that causes COVID-19 to others. IHEs with fully vaccinated students, faculty, and staff can refer to CDC’s Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People. As new information become available, CDC guidance will be updated accordingly.

IHEs should comprehensively engage their IHE networks to establish and promote a vaccination environment that is safe and equitable for all students, faculty, and staff.

Some students, faculty, or staff might not be able to get the COVID-19 vaccine due to medical or other conditions. IHEs will need to determine prevention strategies, accommodations, and policies for any students, faculty, or staff who cannot be vaccinated.

IHEs where all students, faculty, and staff are fully vaccinated prior to the start of the semester can return to full capacity in-person learning, without requiring or recommending masking or physical distancing for people who are fully vaccinated in accordance with CDC’s Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People. General public health considerations such as handwashing, cleaning/disinfection and respiratory etiquette should continue to be encouraged regardless of vaccination status (see Section 4). When holding gatherings and events that include individuals who are not fully vaccinated such as campus visitors or others from outside of the IHE, IHEs should utilize appropriate prevention strategies to protect people who are not fully vaccinated.

Wearing a Mask

Students, faculty, and staff who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance. Although fully vaccinated persons do not generally need to wear masks, CDC recommends continued masking and physical distancing for people with weakened immune systems. IHEs can be supportive of students, faculty, or staff who choose to continue to wear a mask for any reason.

Physical Distancing

Physical distancing is not necessary for fully vaccinated students, faculty, and staff on campus for IHEs where everyone is fully vaccinated except indicated in CDC’s Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People.

Housing and Communal Spaces

Shared housing includes a broad range of settings, such as apartments, condominiums, student or faculty/staff housing, and fraternity and sorority housing. People who are fully vaccinated in shared housing should follow CDC’s Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People.

Hand Hygiene and Respiratory Etiquette

IHEs should continue to facilitate health-promoting behaviors such as hand hygiene and respiratory etiquette to reduce the spread of infectious disease in general.

Cleaning, Improving Ventilation, and Maintaining Healthy Facilities

IHEs should continue to follow cleaning, disinfecting, and ventilation recommendations, including routine cleaning of high touch surfaces and shared objects as well as maintaining improved ventilation.

Testing

People who are fully vaccinated do not need to undergo routine COVID-19 screening testing. If a fully vaccinated person is exposed to someone with COVID-19 they do not need to be tested unless they are experiencing COVID-19 symptoms. Any person who experiences COVID-19 symptoms should get a COVID-19 test. Refer to CDC’s Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People for more information.

Symptom Screening

Encourage students, faculty, and staff to perform daily health screenings for infectious illnesses, including COVID-19.  Encourage students, faculty, and staff with signs or symptoms of infectious illness to stay home when sick and/or seek medical care. A COVID-19 self-checker may be used to help decide when to seek COVID-19 testing or medical care. If symptom screening is conducted, ensure that symptom screening is done safely, respectfully, and in accordance with any applicable federal or state privacy and confidentiality laws.

Contact Tracing in Combination with Isolation and Quarantine

Prompt collaboration between IHEs and health departments to implement case investigationpdf icon and contact tracingpdf icon can effectively break the chain of transmission and prevent further spread of the virus in the IHE setting and the community. All COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing should be done in coordination with state, local, tribal and territorial public health authorities and in accordance with local requirements and guidance. IHEs should continue to support investigation and contact tracing detailed in CDC’s Guidance for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in IHEs. People who are fully vaccinated with no COVID-like symptoms do not need to quarantine or be restricted from work following an exposure to someone with suspected or confirmed COVID-19, except where required by federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations, including local business and workplace guidance.

Variants

Variants of the virus that causes COVID-19 are spreading in the United States. Current data suggest that COVID-19 vaccines authorized for use in the United States offer protection against known variants. CDC has systems in place to monitor how common these variants are and to look for the emergence of new variants. CDC will continue to monitor variants to see if they have any impact on how COVID-19 vaccines work in real-world conditions. For more information see CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccines Work page.

If IHEs experience increases in COVID-19 cases among fully vaccinated persons, administrators should promptly contact their local or state public health department and determine whether they need to re-institute, intensify or implement certain prevention strategies.

Section 3: Guidance for IHEs Where not Everyone is Fully Vaccinated

IHEs where not everyone is fully vaccinated will have a mixed population of both people who are fully vaccinated and people who are not fully vaccinated on campus which requires decision making to protect the people who are not fully vaccinated.

General Considerations

Multiple factors should inform the optimal implementation of layered prevention strategies by IHEs. Ideally, consideration would be given to both the direct campus population as well as the surrounding community. The primary factors to consider include: 1) level of community transmission of COVID-19 ; 2) COVID-19 vaccination coverage, including among students, faculty, and staff; 3) implementation of a robust, frequent SARS-CoV-2 screening testing program with high participation from the unvaccinated campus population; and 4) any local COVID-19 outbreaks or increasing trends. Discussion of these factors should occur in collaboration with local or state public health partners.

Prevention Strategies that Reduce Spread

IHE administrators should create programs and policies that facilitate the adoption and implementation of prevention strategies to slow the spread of COVID-19 at the IHE and in the local community. Evidence-based prevention strategies, including vaccination, should be implemented, and layered in IHE settings. Key prevention strategies include

• Offering and promoting vaccination
• Consistent and correct use of masks
• Physical distancing
• Handwashing and respiratory etiquette
• Contact tracing in combination with isolation and quarantine
• Testing for COVID-19
• Maintaining healthy environments (increased ventilation and cleaning)
• Maintaining healthy operations (communications, supportive policies and health equity)

These prevention strategies remain critical in IHE and community settings with mixed populations of both people who are fully vaccinated and people who are not fully vaccinated.

Particularly in areas of substantial to high transmission, IHEs in collaboration with their local or state health department may consider maintaining or implementing additional prevention strategies including physical distancing and mask use indoors by all students, faculty, staff, and other people such as visitors, including those who are fully vaccinated.

Wearing a Mask

When people who are not fully vaccinated correctly wear a mask, they protect others as well as themselves. Consistent and correct mask use by people who are not fully vaccinated is especially important indoors and in crowded settings, when physical distancing cannot be maintained. Given evidence of limited transmission of COVID-19 outdoors,^1,2,3,4,5,6 CDC has updated its guidance for outdoor mask use among people who are not fully vaccinated.

Administrators should encourage people who are not fully vaccinated and those who might need to take extra precautions to wear a mask consistently and correctly:

• Indoors. Mask use is recommended for people who are not fully vaccinated including children. Children under the age of 2 should not wear a mask.
• Outdoors. In general, people do not need to wear masks when outdoors. However, particularly in areas of substantial to high transmission, CDC recommends that people who are not fully vaccinated wear a mask in crowded outdoor settings or during activities that involve sustained close contact with other people who are not fully vaccinated.

Although people who are fully vaccinated do not need to wear masks, IHEs should be supportive of vaccinated people who choose to wear a mask.

IHEs that continue to require universal mask policies should make exceptions for the following categories of people:

• A person with a disability who cannot wear a mask, or cannot safely wear a mask, because of a disability as defined by the Americans with Disabilities Act (42 U.S.C. 12101 et seq.).
• A person for whom wearing a mask would create a risk to workplace health, safety, or job duty as determined by the relevant workplace safety guidelines or federal regulations.

Physical Distancing

Physical distancing means keeping space of at least 6 feet (about 2 arm lengths) between people who are not from your household in both indoor and outdoor spaces. People who are not fully vaccinated should continue to practice physical distancing.

 Promote physical distancing by

• Hosting virtual-only activities, events, and gatherings (of all sizes).
• Holding activities, events, and gatherings outdoors in areas that can accommodate physical distancing, when possible.
• Spacing out or blocking off rows, chairs, and/or table seating positions in communal use shared spaces (such as classrooms, dining halls, locker rooms, laboratory facilities, libraries, student centers, and lecture rooms).
• Limiting occupancy and requiring mask use by people who are not fully vaccinated, including drivers, and on campus buses/shuttles or other vehicles. Alternate or block off rows and increase ventilation (i.e., open windows if possible).

Hand Hygiene and Respiratory Etiquette

IHEs should facilitate health-promoting behaviors such as hand washing and respiratory etiquette to reduce the spread of infectious illnesses including COVID-19.

IHEs can place visual cues such as handwashing posters, stickers, and other materials in highly visible areas. They can download and print handwashing materials or order handwashing materials from CDC for free using CDC-INFO on Demand.

Housing and Communal Spaces

Shared housing includes a broad range of settings, such as apartments, condominiums, student or faculty/staff housing, and fraternity and sorority housing. IHE administrators should refer to CDC’s Guidance for Shared and Congregate Housing.

Additionally consider:

• If the IHE designates fully vaccinated dorms, floors or complexes, those areas should follow CDC’s Interim Public Health Recommendations for Fully Vaccinated People.
• Housing students who are not fully vaccinated in single rooms instead of shared rooms when feasible.⁷
• Establishing cohorts, such as groups of dorm rooms or dorm floors that do not mix with other cohorts to minimize transmission across cohorts and facilitate contact tracing. All units that share a bathroom should be included in a cohort. Roommates/suite-mates can be considered a household and do not need to use masks or physically distance within the household “unit” (e.g., dorm room or suite) unless someone in the household is ill.
• Close or limit the capacity of communal use shared spaces such as dining areas, game rooms, exercise rooms, and lounges, if possible, to decrease mixing among non-cohort people who are not fully vaccinated. Consider limiting use of communal use shared space to people who are fully vaccinated.

• Limit building access by non-residents, including outside guests and non-essential visitors, to dorms and residence halls.

Contact Tracing in Combination with Isolation and Quarantine

Case Investigation and Contact Tracing

All COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing should be done in coordination with state, local, tribal and territorial public health authorities and in accordance with local requirements and guidance. IHEs should continue to support investigation and contact tracing detailed in CDC’s Guidance for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in IHEs. IHE administrators should take a proactive role in preparing for COVID-19 case investigation and contact tracing detailed in CDC’s Guidance for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in IHEs. It is important that case investigations and contact tracing are conducted in a culturally appropriate manner consistent with applicable privacy, public health, healthcare, and workplace laws and regulations.

• Case investigation and contact tracing are essential interventions in a successful, multipronged response to COVID-19, and should be implemented along with other prevention strategies such as offering and promoting vaccination, consistent and correct use of masks and physical distancing among people who are not fully vaccinated.⁸
• Contact tracing with students, faculty, and staff associated with the campus should be anticipated as a crucial strategy to reduce further transmission once a case is identified consistent with applicable privacy, public health, healthcare, and workplace laws and regulations.

Consistent with applicable privacy laws, IHE officials should plan to provide information and records to aid in the identification of exposures, and notify close contacts, as appropriate,  of exposure as soon as possible after the IHE is notified that someone in the IHE has tested positive or been diagnosed with COVID-19.

Quarantine and Isolation

Some students, faculty, and staff might develop symptoms of COVID-19 while on campus. IHE administrators should be prepared for this possibility and should clearly communicate to students, faculty, and staff actions to take when responding to someone who is sick with COVID-19. IHE administrators should collaborate with local public health authorities  to create a plan for quarantine and isolation to protect persons by preventing exposure to people who have or might have COVID-19. IHEs should facilitate isolation of students, staff, educators, contractors, or volunteers with suspected or confirmed COVID-19 and prompt reporting to the health department and follow Considerations for Case Investigation and Contact Tracing in K-12 Schools and Institutions of Higher Education.

Testing for COVID-19

Testing can slow and stop the spread of COVID-19. Testing must be carried out in a way that protects individuals’ privacy and confidentiality, is consistent with applicable laws and regulations, and integrates with state, local, and tribal public health systems.

IHEs should conduct diagnostic or screening testing of students, faculty, and staff for purposes of surveillance or in the context of an outbreak; however, the recommendations vary based on whether or not a person is fully vaccinated.

• Diagnostic testing is intended to identify current infection in individuals and is performed when a person has signs or symptoms consistent with COVID-19, or when a person who is not fully vaccinated is asymptomatic but has recent known or suspected exposure to SARS-CoV-2.
  • Students, faculty, and staff who are fully vaccinated can refrain from testing following a known exposure if they are asymptomatic. People who are fully vaccinated should continue to get tested if experiencing COVID-19 symptoms.
• Screening testing is intended to identify infected people who are asymptomatic and do not have known, suspected, or reported exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Screening helps to identify unknown cases so that measures can be taken to prevent further transmission.
  • Students, faculty, and staff who are fully vaccinated can refrain from routine screening testing, if feasible.

IHE officials should determine in collaboration with local health department officials the nature of any testing strategy to be implemented for purposes of diagnosis, screening, or outbreak response, and if so, how to best do so. Testing strategies implemented should be done as part of a larger COVID-19 prevention plan. IHE testing guidance can be found at CDC’s Interim Guidance for SARS-CoV-2 Testing and Screening at Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs).

IHEs may consider maintaining documentation of individuals’ vaccination status to inform testing, contact tracing efforts, and quarantine/isolation practices. It is recommended that fully vaccinated people with no COVID-19-like symptoms and no known exposure should be exempted from routine screening testing programs. Vaccination information should be obtained with appropriate safeguards to protect personally identifiable information and HIPAA-sensitive information from unlawful release.

Symptom Screening

Symptom screening will fail to identify some people who have the virus that causes COVID-19. Symptom screening cannot identify people with COVID-19 who are asymptomatic (i.e., do not have symptoms) or pre-symptomatic (have not developed signs or symptoms yet but will later). Others might have symptoms that are so mild that they might not notice them.

• Encourage students, faculty, and staff to perform daily health screenings at home for infectious illnesses, including COVID-19. Encourage students, faculty, and staff with signs or symptoms of infectious illness, including COVID-19, to stay home when sick and/or seek medical care. A COVID-19 self-checker may be used to help decide when to seek COVID-19 testing or medical care.
• If symptom screening is conducted, ensure that symptom screening is done safely, respectfully, and in accordance with any applicable federal or state privacy and confidentiality laws.