Dec. 3, 2021

To the Dartmouth community,

While the COVID-19 pandemic continues to evolve and it is impossible to know exactly what life at Dartmouth will look like in January, we write to share our current expectations for winter operation.

• In-Person Experience

Our priorities are to keep our campus as open as possible and maintain as much of the student experience as we can, while minimizing the risk of serious illness and promoting mental health. We plan for in-person instruction this winter, and we are not planning to ask people to quarantine upon arrival to campus. However, if circumstances change, we may have to make adjustments to the plan. We appreciate your flexibility to adapt as needed. We will give as much advance notice as possible to alert you to any changes.

• COVID-19 Vaccines and Boosters

We encourage everyone who is eligible to receive a COVID-19 booster to do so. Vaccines and boosters continue to be an effective way to protect yourself and to reduce virus transmission. While boosters are not required at this time for students and employees, they may be required in the future. 

As a reminder, all Dartmouth employees are required to be vaccinated by Dec. 8 to remain in compliance with the federal executive order. Students are required to be vaccinated before arrival on campus; for questions, contact Dartmouth College Health Service (Dick’s House).

• Masking

Because of the increasing rate of virus transmission in our community and throughout the region, we continue to require face coverings in classrooms and other indoor shared spaces. Wearing a mask substantially reduces your risk of being infected and spreading the virus. Please refer to Dartmouth’s face covering policy for additional details. 

• COVID-19 Testing

Vaccinated students will need to complete Vault pre-arrival testing before returning to campus in January and will also be required to complete a PCR test within 48 hours of returning. Unvaccinated students and those returning from international locations are required to complete a PCR test along with an antigen test within 48 hours of arrival on campus, followed by another PCR test five days later. Students will receive more information about Vault pre-arrival tests and arrival test requirements later this month.

After completing arrival testing, students will return to their regular testing cadence (once per week for vaccinated students and twice weekly for unvaccinated students and in-season student-athletes). 

If accessing campus throughout December, employees are required to continue to follow their testing cadence. Testing will continue to be required this winter.

• Isolation Space

While we hope to limit the need for isolation space for students by taking steps to reduce the spread of the virus, we are preparing to increase the available capacity of isolation housing to maintain flexibility and our ability to address a spike in cases without significant disruption to operations.

 We know you must be exhausted. We are all done with the pandemic, but it appears that it is not done with us. Thank you for remaining flexible as we learn more about how the virus is evolving, and for being willing to pivot as circumstances warrant. We continue to prioritize the in-person student experience as much as possible, while also minimizing the risk of serious illness and promoting mental health.  

We will continue to communicate with you about any changes to Dartmouth policy. Please stay tuned next week for a video message with additional updates.