Current Summer Health & Safety Protocols


Dear Champlain community,

We thank all of you once again for continually demonstrating care for yourself and each other in following campus protocols and monitoring your health, particularly around the busy end-of-semester and Commencement events. As we transition to summer operations on campus, we want to provide an update on health and safety protocols during the summer months.

We continue to monitor the COVID-19 data and landscape on campus and in our broader community and follow protocols that help us prioritize the health and safety of our campus. Currently, the CDC’s community transmission map shows a reduction in transmission in Vermont, with Chittenden and a few other Vermont counties reporting low levels of transmission. The State of Vermont has shifted its reporting of data away from daily case counts to a weekly surveillance report and is phasing out state-sponsored testing sites. With this context in mind, we are updating our protocols for the summer months. We will continue to monitor the situation and make adjustments as needed.

MASKING

As we shift to summer operations, masking is now recommended but not required.  This aligns Champlain with current masking protocols in our external community. We thank you for your diligence in masking through the end of the semester as we worked to ensure the health and safety of our students, employees, and guests at Commencement. 

REPORTING/NOTIFICATION

We are shifting our process for COVID reporting and management. Students and employees who test positive will now self-manage their contact notification, which is in line with protocols in the greater community.

  • Students and employees who test positive for COVID-19 should notify the college.  Students will use this form, and employees will use this form.  The submission of the form will notify the Campus Medical Team of the COVID-19 infection with important details as to possible campus exposure.  Anyone who submits the form will get an email response with guidance on how to manage their isolation, information on who to identify as a close contact, and suggested language for contact notification.
  • We are no longer asking students and employees to report when they are identified as a close contact.
  • Students and employees are now responsible for notifying their own close contacts, including Champlain College contacts. 

Employees should contact the Employee Health Team with questions at covidhealth@champlain.edu.  Students with questions should contact the Student Health Center at (802) 860-2711 or healthservices@champlain.edu.

DASHBOARD

Last summer the State of Vermont lifted the requirement for colleges to operate a COVID dashboard in its guidance for Higher Education during COVID-19.  Champlain decided to continue this practice throughout the 2021-2022 academic year.  Due to the low numbers of students and employees on campus this summer, we will pause this practice for the summer and re-evaluate the utility of this tool prior to the start of the fall semester.

TESTING

The Whiting Hall Testing Center will be open on a reduced schedule this summer, Mondays and Wednesdays 10:00 AM – 12:00 PM. If you are notified of a workplace exposure and would like to take a precautionary COVID test, you are welcome to use the Testing Center during these hours. 

EXTERNAL GUESTS

Our summer operations are in full swing, including hosting our pre-college summer programs and events with external guests. Our Event Center works closely with external groups to convey our health and safety expectations, and build risk mitigation requirements into the contractual obligations for these groups.  

Once again, we thank you for your commitment to protect your health and the health of our community.  Please email feedback@champlain.edu with any questions.

Sincerely,

Leslie Averill
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer