John Carroll University plans to return to primarily in-person learning in the fall. According to President Michael Johnson, the University will still utilize the HyFlex learning model, which will allow for both in-person and virtual learning. 

While nothing is finalized, the University will be encouraging students to get vaccinated. 

Yet, dozens of universities across the country are mandating that students be vaccinated before returning to campus in the fall. According to University Business, although certain colleges will be requiring a COVID-19 vaccine before returning to campus, religious and medical exceptions will be made. 

Due to the ever changing issues surrounding the pandemic, next semester plans will depend upon Covid-19 circumstances next semester. The Associate Dean for Sciences, Mathematics, and Health Michael Martin told The Carroll News, “Government requirements are something that we can speculate on, but we won’t know with any certainty until Governor DeWine indicates changes to be made. This could affect room occupancy, but I don’t expect a 6-foot spacing as vaccinations increase.”

According to the John Carroll Covid-19 Task Force, there were 180 total positive COVID-19 cases in the JCU community reported between Jan. 2 and April 22. As of April 22, there are 17 reported active cases. 

In regard to how many students have been or plan to be vaccinated Martin said that is, “something that we are at the beginning of collecting. Of course, we will likely underestimate as individuals do not have to declare their vaccination status unless we were in a situation where it would be required.”

While it is hard to get an exact count of how many students on campus have been vaccinated thus far, the Student Health Center has issued an incentive of a $15.00 Panera gift card for students who submit proof of vaccination. Thus far an estimated 400 students have shown proof of vaccination. The Student Health Center encourages all students to inform them of vaccination in order to monitor the university’s current state in regard to vaccines. 

According to CNN.com, “Students hope the vaccine mandate will bring life back to college.” Most colleges do require students to be vaccinated against diseases like rubella, meningitis and chickenpox, so it is not unusual that  universities are mandating the COVID-19 vaccination as well. 

But with the vaccine still being relatively new, not all students feel comfortable getting it. 

For example, a number of students received the Johnson and Johnson vaccine before its initial recall. Due to limited testing and complications, the vaccine was taken off the market for public distribution briefly between April 13 and April 23. Complications like this could make students and community members wary of being vaccinated until more testing and time has passed.

The Carroll News reached out to the University about data regarding how many students have been vaccinated against COVID-19. Assistant Vice President of Marketing and Communications Mike Scanlan said, “We do not have data regarding the number of students who have received the vaccination at this time” or how many plan to be vaccinated.