Campus Plan/COVID Protocols (2022⁠–⁠23)

Health protocols

All Mitchell Hamline students, staff, and faculty are expected to follow the COVID-19 Health Protocols listed below.

A. Vaccination requirement

Beginning in 2022-23, all students, faculty, staff, and visitors must be up to date on COVID-19 vaccines to be on campus. The law school defines “up to date” as including at least one booster for those who are eligible.

Students

• Beginning August 1, 2022, all students need to provide documentation that they are up to date on COVID-19 vaccines. Students can update their vaccine status in their student record. All students must be up to date on their COVID vaccines or have an approved accommodation on file to attend classes on campus. There is no longer a waiver to attend classes remotely if students are not vaccinated and do not have a vaccine accommodation on file. Not vaccinated? See MDH Vaccination Locations.

• In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and any other applicable state or local law, Mitchell Hamline School of Law will provide reasonable accommodations for vaccinations to qualified students with documented disabilities, other medical reasons that may not qualify as a disability under federal, state, or local law, or with sincerely held religious beliefs, observances, or practices that conflict with the COVID-19 Vaccination Policy, unless providing such accommodations creates an undue hardship for the law school. All requests will be reviewed by the Office of the Dean of Students.  See, Vaccination accommodation request form (also posted on the Dean of Students webpage). Forms and documentation will be reviewed as quickly as possible upon receipt.
• NOTE: By providing information about their vaccine status, students are certifying that it is true and correct. Knowingly providing false information about vaccination status is a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.

• It is expected that students will comply with these school policies. Education and community responsibility is our preferred method to address isolated occurrences of non-compliance. Widespread failure to adhere to health protocols may lead to a loss of access to building spaces, classes, or disciplinary action for students under the Student Code of Conduct.

Faculty and Staff

• All staff and faculty need to provide documentation that they are up to date on COVID vaccines by August 15, 2022. Mitchell Hamline defines up to date as including at least one booster for those eligible.
• Requests for accommodations should be directed to Mike Freer, Director of Human Resources

For more information about where to get vaccinated/boosted, see MDH Vaccination Locations

B. Containing the spread of COVID-19 on campus

To minimize the spread of COVID-19 and the need to suspend in-person classes and other on-campus activities, it is critically important for each student, faculty, and staff member to follow these protocols:

Monitor health for symptoms of COVID-19 on a daily basis.

Stay home if feeling ill with symptoms that could be related to COVID-19.

Get tested if you suspect you may have COVID-19. See MDH COVID-19 Testing Sites.

Report if you test positive for COVID-19.

• Complete and submit the COVID-19 Reporting Form. Information on this form is critical for the school to conduct contact tracing to limit further transmission.
• If you are a student, please contact Dean LeMoine at lemoine@mitchellhamline.edu for further instructions. If you are an employee or visitor, please contact Mike Freer, Director of Human Resources at michael.freer@mitchellhamline.edu for further instructions.
• Return to Campus Clearance – Students and employees will be required to be evaluated before returning to campus. More information about this will be provided directly to impacted students by the Dean of Students and to employees by the Director of Human Resources.

If you test positive for COVID-19, stay home and away from others even if experiencing NO symptoms.

• Symptoms may appear up to 14 days after you are close to someone with COVID-19.
• You can spread COVID-19 to others several days before you have any symptoms, or even if you never have any symptoms of COVID-19.
• Regardless of vaccination status, stay home for 10 days (this exceeds current CDC guidelines).  See 9/6/22 update below.
• Regardless of vaccination status, stay home for 5 days. You may end isolation after day 5 if:
  • You are fever-free for 24 hours (without the use of fever-reducing medication) and
  • Your symptoms are improving. 

          If you still have fever or your other symptoms have not improved, continue to isolate until they improve.

If you are in close contact to someone who tests positive for COVID-19:

• Self-monitor for symptoms (even if you are fully vaccinated).
• If you develop symptoms, stay home, regardless of vaccination status.
• Get tested on day 5 after close contact with a confirmed-positive case. If you test positive, follow the instructions in the section above.

If you have had a close contact with someone with COVID-19 and are not experiencing any symptoms, you do not need to quarantine if one of the following is true:

• You have completed ALL recommended doses of COVID-19 vaccine when eligible, including a booster or additional doses. Refer to CDC: Stay Up to Date with Your Vaccines.

• You had COVID-19 in the past three months. Refer to CDC: COVID-19 Testing: What You Need to Know.
• See Minnesota Department of Health guidance for close contacts.

Maintain physical distance in common areas when feasible.

• There are no specific requirements for physical distancing at this time; however, it is advised to avoid crowding into rooms/spaces and to maintain some additional distance in common spaces if feasible.
• Physical distancing requirements may be reinstated if conditions warrant this action.

C. Masks

• All students, staff, faculty, and visitors are required to wear masks in classroom and instructional spaces during class sessions. Masks may be removed briefly while actively eating or drinking. Faculty are not required to wear a mask while making presentations or lectures to the class.  See update below.
• Masks are strongly recommended during in-person meetings and encouraged throughout the building.
• Masks should be high-filtration, such as N95/KN95.

Note: These measures will be reviewed in late August for possible adjustment depending on conditions.

Update:  Effective Monday, 9/12/22, students, staff, faculty, and visitors will no longer be required to wear a mask in the building, including in classrooms and instructional spaces. The mask requirement may be reinstated in the future in response to an increase in case numbers. The school will continue to support individuals who choose to wear a mask. 

D. Additional steps to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other illness:

• Protect yourself and others (see MDH prevention guidelines)
• Stay home when feeling ill for any reason.
• Wash hands or use hand sanitizer frequently.
• Avoid shaking hands.
• Cough and sneeze into the inside of elbow.
• Get a seasonal flu shot when available.

Events and meetings

In-person events and meetings are permitted in the law school building and outside space but may be subject to special guidelines under some circumstances. All visitors attending events or meetings must:

• show proof they are up to date on vaccines (defined as primary dose/s and a minimum of one booster), and
• complete the Visitor COVID-19 Self-Screening Form at the Security Desk.

Staff and faculty should complete an Events Request Form available through The Summit.

Update: Staff and faculty event planners no longer need to submit a separate event request form for review by the COVID-19 committee. When planning an event, follow protocols listed above and consider feasible alternatives for the event if needed to respond to changing circumstances and protocols.

Students should contact student.services@mitchellhamline.edu.

Only Mitchell Hamline-sponsored events and meetings are permitted at this time. The law school will not permit outside organizations or groups to hold events or meetings on campus until further notice.

Travel

Domestic travel for Mitchell Hamline-sponsored events is generally permitted pursuant to regular practices and guidelines but consideration to the location’s public health conditions should be given serious consideration. If available, remote options to participate may be safest and allow more individuals to participate.

Mitchell Hamline-sponsored international travel may be permitted depending on the destination and information posted on CDC’s COVID-19 Travel Recommendations. Persons planning international travel should contact Vice-Dean Jim Hilbert (faculty) or Director Mike Freer (staff).

Visitors and access to the law school and library

Visitors are welcome to use the law library or attend events in the law school building. All visitors are required to:

• show proof they are up to date on vaccines (defined as primary dose/s and a minimum of one booster), and
• complete the Visitor COVID-19 Self-Screening Form at the Security Desk.

See 2/10/23 Update below:

Mitchell Hamline School of Law welcomes visitors to campus and is committed to providing a safe and healthy environment for all who come into the building.  Although masks are no longer required, the School encourages anyone who wishes to wear a mask, or may be experiencing symptoms of a cold, to do so. 

All visitors are required to be fully vaccinated to be in the building. You are considered “fully vaccinated” if you have received at least one booster shot in addition to the primary series vaccination. Visitors are no longer required to present proof of vaccination. In addition, visitors must not be experiencing any symptoms of COVID-19 within 48 hours of coming to campus.

Upon entering the law school, visitors will be asked to review the COVID-19 Self-Screening form which states these requirements. Visitors must be able to confirm that they meet these requirements by checking the “Yes” box on the sign-in form. Visitors who are not able to do so will not be permitted in the building that day.

 

Monitoring and compliance

The COVID-19 Response and Planning Team will continue to monitor the number of cases reported by our students and employees, changes in the rate of cases within 7-day periods, the success of contact tracing, and community levels of COVID to determine any changes in our campus operations. It will continue to work with the higher education team at the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and the school’s medical consultant to stay current with evolving information.

Changes in protocols will be communicated to the Mitchell Hamline community via the usual means of communication and, as appropriate, posted on this website.

The COVID-19 Dashboard is updated every Friday.