COVID vaccine requirement for students

After consulting with numerous UMN governance bodies and implementing a formal 30-day comment period to retire the policy, the University will end the COVID-19 vaccine requirement for students and employees effective July 1, 2023.

As part of ending the student COVID-19 vaccination requirement, Academic Support Resources (ASR) will be retiring system messaging and the AG2 holds. This includes removing prior and current AG2 holds from student records. Existing holds will be removed via a batch process on Friday, June 30. For more information about the University’s response to COVID-19, visit Safe Campus.

Vax 2.0 update

As a reminder, all students enrolled online or in-person must complete the Student COVID-19 Immunization Vaccination form. Students who have not completed the vaccination form have a registration hold preventing them from registering for fall 2022 classes and future terms. An automated process runs each night to remove holds for students who have completed their form or who have an approved exemption. For more information, see the Get the Vax 2.0 website.

Extended pause on student loan payments

The U.S. Department of Education recently extended the pause on student loan payments through May 1, 2022, which is a 3 month extension of what has been in place since the middle of 2020. This pause is really aimed at alumni and not currently enrolled students. Enrolled students who have unsubsidized Direct loans can see a benefit of no interest being assessed, as would normally happen. Interest will then resume as of May 1, 2022.

Students graduating in May need to understand that they need to do their Exit Counseling as usual since loans will be entered into repayment status as they normally do. Students with unsubsidized loans will only have interest that accrued prior to about June 2020 and interest accrued after May 1, 2022. They will need to consider this when determining what loan amounts they will have and how to best handle them after they graduate. Students and alumni can learn more at COVID-19 Emergency Relief and Federal Student Aid.

Vax 2.0 update

As a reminder, all students enrolled online or in-person must complete the Student COVID-19 Immunization Vaccination form. Students who do not complete the Vaccination form are out of compliance with the University's vaccination requirement and have a service indicator on their student record, which will prevent them from registering for spring 2022 classes and future terms. An automated process runs each night to remove holds for students who have completed their form or who have an approved exemption. For more information, see the Get the Vax 2.0 website.

Vax 2.0

In early August, the University announced it would mandate vaccines after the FDA approval, which included an employee and student requirement. ASR is collaborating with Health Sciences Technology (HST) and other campus partners to support the University’s COVID vaccine mandate. ASR’s role is focused on ensuring our student records reflect compliance with the requirement through the use of a student group and the appropriate application and removal of a service indicator that will hold students’ spring 2022 registration if they have not completed their attestation. This will affect all currently enrolled students on all campuses and careers.

Students have until October 8, 2021 to complete their attestation. Afterwards, a hold will be applied to their spring 2022 registration. We are working on an automated process to check for compliance daily and remove holds as students complete their required attestation. More information is available on the Get the Vax 2.0 website.