New Guidelines on University-Sponsored Travel and Campus Visitors for the Fall 2020 Semester
From Dr. Jean Morrison, University Provost and Chief Academic Officer
Key to our efforts to maintain healthy learning, living, and working environments across the University this fall will be limiting the flow of travel and outside visitors to our campuses. I am writing to share with you two new temporary policies we will be implementing for the fall 2020 semester that are designed – in concert with our testing protocols and coordinated safety measures – to help limit the risk of COVID-19 being introduced into our community from outside sources.
These two measures are as follows:
- The Policy Regarding Fall 2020 University-Sponsored Travel will prohibit University-sponsored domestic and international travel for undergraduate and graduate students for the fall semester, unless exempted by their dean. It will also strongly discourage sponsored travel for faculty and staff, granting exemptions only with the approval of the traveler’s dean or vice president. As a reminder, all travelers remain subject to federal, state, and local travel restrictions and quarantine requirements, as well as any applicable University quarantine requirements.
- Under the Policy Regarding Campus Visitors During the COVID-19 Pandemic, until further notice, all University campus spaces, facilities, and buildings will be open only for official University business and not to the general public. The policy lays out categories of visitors (including contractors, vendors, tenants, patients, and visiting faculty, scholars, researchers, and students) who will be permitted on campus, provided they have been invited by a host and meet a set of health and safety requirements, in conjunction with federal, state, local, and University regulations.
We are excited to reopen our campuses this fall for residential learning and to welcome our community back to Boston. Our success in this effort will depend on everyone working together and following public health protocols and guidelines. Thank you for playing an important part in this process and for your commitment to a healthy and secure campus environment for all members of our community.