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August 6, 2021
Subj: Guidance on reconvening the campus community
Dear Members of the Notre Dame Community,
Excitement is in the air! We are looking forward to coming together again in person at the start of the
new semester – especially given all that has transpired over the past arduous 18 months.
Even as we look forward to reconvening the campus community, recent developments related to the
COVID-19 variants have led to new CDC guidelines and some adjustments to our campus policies. As
always, we seek to craft policies and protocols that protect the health and safety of our Notre Dame and
local communities while also continuing the University’s critical work of teaching, learning, and research.
In our planning, we have worked closely with Dr. Mark Fox, deputy health commissioner for St. Joseph
County, as well as other public health officials, and have reviewed recent guidelines from the Centers for
Disease Control. There have been conversations among senior leaders on Fr. Jenkins’ President’s
Reopening Advisory Committee (PRAC), the deans of the colleges and schools, the Faculty Advisory
Committee (FAC), and Fr. Olinger’s student advisory committee.
We write to provide some updates on plans for the fall semester. Please remember that with COVID, we
must be prepared to adapt and change as circumstances evolve.
Running the numbers
Notre Dame requires all students, faculty, and staff to provide proof of full vaccination for COVID-19 or
receive an official exemption from vaccination. We are proud – and grateful – that 90% of our
community has provided proof of vaccination, and 94% have either provided proof of vaccination or
received an exemption. We expect the percentage of fully vaccinated students, faculty, and staff will
continue to rise in the weeks ahead.
We all saw case rates at Notre Dame drop dramatically in the spring semester as more and more people
were vaccinated. We have had a total of 7 positive cases among 6,510 tests of students, faculty, and
staff on campus throughout the entire summer.
Our policies and protocols are shaped by our very high vaccination rates on campus.
Vaccines
Public health data clearly indicate the likelihood of severe illness or hospitalization in those who are fully
vaccinated is extremely small. According to the CDC, 99.9% of COVID-19 hospitalizations in recent weeks
have involved those who are not vaccinated. In addition, vaccines have been shown to be highly
effective at reducing the chance of infection. Vaccine breakthrough cases, though much discussed in the
media, remain rare. We urge all of you who have not yet gotten vaccinated to do so as soon as possible.
You can sign up for a vaccine and find information about how to upload your vaccine documentation on
the COVID-19 website here.
Capacity
University facilities, including classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, libraries, common spaces,
and administrative spaces, will operate at full capacity. Residence halls, dining halls, and campus retail
outlets will also operate at normal capacity.
Classes
Classes will be taught in person. We will observe fall break and Thanksgiving break. The full academic
calendar can be found here.
We heard from students and faculty that technology-enhanced “dual-mode” teaching was especially
challenging. For Fall 2021, we are not asking instructors to offer their courses in dual-mode. Indeed, the
pandemic reaffirmed the importance of in-person teaching and learning. As such, there will not be an
option for students or instructors to regularly attend a class remotely. The technology does remain
available in most Registrar classrooms. Faculty may of course use dual delivery or lecture recording
technology at their discretion and as needed. Rooms will be available for instructor drop-in visits
between August 18-20. Students should follow pre-pandemic practices for missed classes due to illness
or other excused absences.
Instructors and students may interact freely for group work, labs, instructional activities, and the like.
Instructors may arrange furniture at their discretion to facilitate learning. Fall courses have been
assigned to classrooms according to pre-pandemic standards; we will not use COVID-capacities or
temporary classrooms. Students will no longer be asked to use marked seats or report their seat
locations.
Masks
Masks are not required outdoors.
For fully vaccinated Notre Dame faculty, staff, and students, masking is optional indoors on campus,
including in residence halls. There are some exceptions to this, primarily involving spaces and times
where visitors are commonly present. Due to our inability to verify the vaccination status of those
outside our highly vaccinated campus community and our inability to easily differentiate between those
who are immediate members of the Notre Dame community versus visitors, masks will be required
(except when eating and drinking) of both vaccinated and unvaccinated faculty, staff, and students in
some campus spaces during times when those spaces are generally open to the public. See more
detailed guidance below our signatures and on Notre Dame’s COVID response website.
Those students who are not fully vaccinated must wear masks inside campus buildings, except when
alone in a private office, in a personal residence hall room, or when eating or drinking.
Those faculty and staff who are not fully vaccinated or who have not uploaded proof of vaccination
must wear masks inside campus buildings, except when alone in a private office or when eating or
drinking.