April 15, 2021

Autumn quarter course schedule and vaccine eligibility updates (Message to Seattle students)

This message was sent to all students at the University of Washington’s Seattle campus. Similar messages were sent to students at UW Bothell and UW Tacoma.

Dear Students,

We are looking forward to welcoming you back to campus this autumn for a largely in-person academic and extracurricular experience. We are very optimistic about what our University experience will be like this fall, particularly given that vaccinations are outpacing infections. Of course, we must all continue to be on guard, such as by masking up and avoiding gatherings with not-yet-vaccinated people, as the pandemic is not over yet.

As we all plan ahead for the return to campus, we are happy to share some information on both autumn quarter courses and vaccinations.

Autumn quarter course schedule

The autumn quarter course schedule will be posted Friday, April 16, and assumes that most courses will be offered in person with room capacities and assignments indicated. Only those courses offered fully online will be listed as such. Courses with a mixture of online and in-person elements will show up as fully in person in the course schedule so that you know there is an in-person element for the course.

We will continue to update the course schedule over the summer, both as health conditions dictate and as colleges and schools refine their plans. We expect there will continue to be health measures in place this autumn, such as requiring masks, and will update you as we get closer to autumn quarter and those measures are finalized by state and local governments.

We also anticipate that our academic and extracurricular services will be fully operational to help you make the most of your student experience, including the IMA, the HUB, University Libraries, residence halls and food services. We will maintain an autumn quarter planning page with the most up-to-date information on the UW’s plans.

Vaccines now available to Washington residents 16 and over

We expect everyone in the UW community who is able to get vaccinated against COVID-19 to do so.

If you’re living in Washington, anyone age 16 and over can get vaccinated starting today through UW Medicine or any number of other locations. Many other states and territories have already taken this step, and all of them will do so by Monday. Vaccines.gov links to details on vaccination opportunities in the United States. If you’re living outside the United States, check with your local health department for details on vaccinations.

In addition, the UW is planning to offer pop-up vaccination sites on campus as vaccine supplies become available, including for students not able to get vaccinated where they currently live. We will provide details on those when available. Additionally, any decisions on requiring vaccinations will be made no later than June 1, but please know that if a requirement is established it will have similar exemptions as our current immunization requirement. In the meantime, if you haven’t yet made an appointment to get vaccinated please do so.

As always, we rely on the advice and expertise of our public health experts when we make decisions. Because we are on the quarter system and our autumn classes begin Sept. 29, we have more time to plan and prepare for your return. Again, check the planning for autumn quarter page for updates.

We are looking forward to seeing you in person soon!

Sincerely,

Mark A. Richards
Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs
Professor of Earth and Space Sciences

Philip J. Reid
Vice Provost for Academic and Student Affairs
Professor of Chemistry