Unvaccinated students unenrolled from HVCC with no refund
By Robert Dungan, Junior Photo Editor
53 people of the 4892 on-campus Hudson Valley Community College student population are no longer students due to their failure to meet vaccination requirements as of October 1st. Sixteen of the former students did not produce proof of the measles, mumps and rubella immunization, a vaccine typically administered between ages 1-12. The others failed to follow SUNY COVID-19 policy of proving their vaccination status.
The 53 former students were “dematriculated,” being the opposite of a matriculated student. Law Insider’s website defines matriculated as “recognized by the approved institution as a student in a defined program of study leading to an associate degree, baccalaureate degree, diploma or certificate.” The dematriculated students will not receive any refund for tuition or fees, and their transcripts will not reflect any coursework for this semester. It will appear as if they did not attend college during the Fall 2021 semester.
Former Governor Andrew Cuomo announced that all SUNY institutions would require their students to be vaccinated in a Coronavirus Briefing on May 10th, 2021. HVCC emailed all registered students three times in August to remind them of the mandate and the soon-to-be FDA-approved Pfizer vaccine. When Blackboard became available, each student’s home screen had a large banner on the top third of the page with the mandate information. The “Vax Bus” appeared on campus the second day of the semester, and two additional emails were sent to the entire student body on September 7th and 16th, providing further reminders.
On September 17th, 2021, the on-campus populace was made up of 4065 fully vaccinated students, 160 partially vaccinated, 80 students with accepted exemptions, and 100 high school students under the age of 16, in addition to 777 fully vaccinated employees (86% of all employees including those working remote). On September 20th, a mobile billboard appeared at the campus entrance at North Drive with the simple message: “COVID-19 Vaccination Reminder – Action Required by September 30th, 2021”. Every exterior door on campus, bulletin board, and outdoor display case exhibited a green and orange flyer or poster reminding all of the September 30th deadline along with the HVCC-COVID weblink. That was also the day that hundreds of certified letters were mailed to the student’s address on file, making them aware that there was no proof of vaccination on file with either the state of NY or the SUNY system. The college engaged the outbound call center to reach all unvaccinated students to remind them of the possible consequence of failing to comply.
At 5 pm on September 30th, an email was distributed to the college’s COVID response team stating that 123 students had not fully cleared the mandate process yet. Deanne Martocci, Director of the Center for Access and Adaptive Technology, was both happy and disappointed with the email’s message. She expected the number of soon-to-be dematriculated students to drop in the following days as the last bits of information made their way through the system, but any student being dismissed is a loss to the college.
HVCC Director of Communications Dennis Kennedy reports that 4407 students are now fully vaccinated against COVID-19. 352 students are partially vaccinated and will be tested weekly until entirely compliant. A total of 126 exemptions had been granted (including some remote students that may have to visit the campus). Seven students are waiting for a legal opinion to be determined or additional documentation to be considered.
Deanne Martocci will be leading the compliance effort, ensuring that the 352 partially vaccinated students test weekly and complete their vaccination protocol as prescribed by the FDA. Any student not complying will face disciplinary action up to and including expulsion. The pooled testing area occupying the game room on the first floor of the Campus Center will continue to operate for the foreseeable future. Due to contracts, the college’s employees have the option to test weekly as opposed to taking the vaccine. Dennis Kennedy reminded the Hudsonian that more than 85 percent of all employees are fully vaccinated.
The 53 students who can no longer access their classes have been allowed a 14-day extension to meet the mandate and reclaim their class schedule. It will be the reinstated student’s responsibility to make up any missed work.
UPDATE TO BE ADDED: https://www.wktv.com/content/news/MVCC-agrees-to-comply-with-SUNY-vaccine-policy-for-students-575481241.html