Dear Members of the Georgetown University Community,
We are excited to bring our community together again as we return to in-person educational and research activities on campus this fall. With the COVID-19 vaccination requirement for students, faculty and staff in place, Georgetown will ease restrictions related to density, physical distancing and testing, while continuing to take a layered approach to protecting and monitoring the health and safety of our community.
Please review Georgetown’s public health guidelines for the Fall 2021 semester below, which take effect Monday, August 2, 2021, unless otherwise noted. Additional instructions and reminders will be sent this week, so please look out for follow-up messages and take the actions required as we prepare to return to campus. We will also hold forums for students, faculty and staff to provide more information and an opportunity to ask questions. We will share details about these forums in the days ahead. In addition, please refer to these frequently asked questions.
Vaccination Documentation
As soon as possible — but no later than August 1 for students or August 9 for faculty and staff — please submit your vaccination documentation through the GU360 mobile app or GU360 website, if you have not done so already or requested a medical or religious exemption or deadline extension. For more information, please visit the University’s COVID-19 Vaccines web page.
Campus Access, Density and Physical Distancing
Effective August 2, Main Campus and Medical Center buildings will be open at full capacity to all students, faculty and staff, and will follow the same building access protocols that were in place prior to the pandemic. Some buildings, such as Main Campus residential buildings, the SCS campus at 640 Massachusetts Avenue NW and all Law Center buildings, will continue to be accessed by GOCard only. Some buildings, including Yates Field House and the Scott K. Ginsburg Sport & Fitness Center (see below), may continue to limit access.
Physical distancing will no longer be required on our campuses, indoors or outdoors. We encourage individuals who are not fully vaccinated yet or who have an exemption to continue to practice physical distancing on campus.
The University may limit capacity in certain large indoor venues at any time (e.g., Gaston Hall, McDonough Arena).
Mode of Instruction
Classes will be in-person, unless the course has been approved by the University to be taught online.
COVID-19 Testing
All University community members, regardless of vaccination status, will need to take an arrival test prior to resuming work or study on campus in order to establish a baseline understanding of public health conditions at the beginning of the Fall semester. Individuals who have already been testing on campus do not need to take an arrival test, but they need to take at least one test during the month of August. We will provide instructions in the coming days on how to register for One Medical, Georgetown’s testing provider, and get tested on campus. For more information, please visit the University’s COVID-19 Testing Protocol web page.
Fully vaccinated individuals will not be required to participate in routine asymptomatic testing after they complete their arrival test. Individuals who are not fully vaccinated and who have received a medical or religious exemption or deadline extension will be tested twice per week. Anyone who develops symptoms consistent with COVID-19 will be expected to get tested prior to resuming campus activities.
Masks
For the time being, the University’s COVID-19 Mask Guidelines will remain in effect as we continue to monitor vaccination rates and public health conditions. Individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will wear a mask indoors in University-owned or operated buildings, except when eating or drinking, when alone in a private office or when in your personal residence. A fully vaccinated faculty member may remove their mask when lecturing in a classroom setting. We will continue to monitor public health conditions in our community, and we expect to ease the indoor mask requirement if they remain favorable.
Symptom Monitoring
In order for Georgetown to effectively monitor public health conditions on campus, individuals who are not fully vaccinated will need to complete the COVID-19 Daily Check-In survey through the GU360 app or GU360 website one to two hours before they arrive each day that they come to campus. GOCard access will be linked to regular completion of the COVID-19 Daily Check-In survey, at least through the beginning of the Fall semester. If you have not completed a COVID-19 Daily Check-In survey in the previous 24 hours, your GOCard will temporarily be deactivated until you complete a new survey. Please allow one to two hours for your GOCard to be reactivated.
Fully vaccinated individuals are expected to complete the COVID-19 Daily Check-In survey any time that they experience symptoms or are exposed to someone infected with COVID-19. Community members are expected to stay home or in their on-campus residence if they have any symptoms.
Quarantine and Isolation
Georgetown will continue to abide by DC Department of Health guidance regarding quarantine (e.g., travel and exposure) and isolation, which may change periodically. For more information, please visit the University’s Quarantine and Isolation web page.
Events and Meetings
Events and meetings will be permitted on campus, following all event policies and protocols in place prior to the pandemic for hosting events and reserving space on campus. Main Campus and Medical Center event spaces, including Main Campus student center spaces, are available to University departments and groups with access to benefits, and should be reserved through the Georgetown University Room/Space Request System, which is managed by Georgetown Event Management Services (GEMS) and Student Centers, beginning on Monday, July 26, 2021. Event space on the Law Center campus will be managed through the Office of Events Management and Scheduling. Students, faculty and staff interested in hosting events at the School of Continuing Studies should email scsevents@georgetown.edu.
External guests will need to comply with the University’s public health guidelines (e.g., COVID-19 Mask Guidelines), which may include additional guest registration protocols, in effect at the time of the event. Event organizers should check the Public Health & University Operations web page for the latest public health protocols for campus events. Regardless, event organizers should strongly encourage attendees to be fully vaccinated, and anyone with symptoms needs to stay home.
Move-In Update
During move-in, each student may bring one family member or friend into their residential building in order to help them move in. All individuals, regardless of vaccination status, will need to wear a mask indoors on campus.
Religious Services
Religious services will resume on campus as they had prior to the pandemic. For more information, please visit the religious services calendar on the Office of Campus Ministry website.
GUTS
Georgetown University Transportation Shuttle (GUTS) will operate at full capacity. As has been the practice during the pandemic, passengers will continue to enter and exit via the rear of the shuttle. Individuals using GUTS, regardless of vaccination status, will need to wear a mask while on the shuttle. For more information on routes and schedules, please visit the GUTS website.
Dining
Main Campus food establishments will be open at full capacity no later than August 25, unless otherwise noted at the establishment. At the Law Center, Legal Eats will open on August 17, and other food operations will open on August 23. For information on hours of operation on the Main Campus, please visit the Hoya Hospitality website.
Intercollegiate Athletics
Intercollegiate athletics will resume within the parameters set by the NCAA, the Big East Conference and the Patriot League. Spectators will be permitted to attend athletic competitions, indoors and outdoors.
Campus Recreation
Yates Field House and Kehoe Field on the Main Campus and the Scott K. Ginsburg Sport & Fitness Center at the Law Center will reopen to fully vaccinated students, faculty and staff on Monday, August 23, 2021. Under the COVID-19 Mask Guidelines, individuals will need to wear a mask when exercising indoors, until these guidelines are eased. Yates and Ginsburg Sport & Fitness Center will continue to be closed to external community members and guests through at least December 2021. Club and intramural sports will resume on campus.
Georgetown’s highest priority is to protect our community as many members return to campus from across the nation and around the world, including from locations where access to vaccines has been more limited than in the United States and where the pandemic is still intensifying. We are committed to striking the appropriate balance between easing restrictions in light of the vaccination requirement while also continuing to monitor public health conditions, including the emergence of new variants of the virus and the efficacy of vaccines against variants. We may further ease—or, if necessary, extend—restrictions in response to changing public health conditions. We will provide additional information, as needed.
Thank you for your continued commitment to protecting the health and safety of the Georgetown community, and we look forward to welcoming new and returning community members in the weeks to come.
Sincerely,
Robert M. Groves, Provost
Edward B. Healton, Executive Vice President for Health Sciences
William M. Treanor, Executive Vice President and Dean of the Law Center
Geoffrey S. Chatas, Senior Vice President and Chief Operating Officer