1.5.23

Dear Students, Faculty and Staff —

Following President Killeen’s announcement regarding the system’s Spring 2023 COVID-19 approach, I want to clarify what this means for our university.

Effective immediately, we are removing COVID-19 vaccination and testing requirements for all University of Illinois Springfield students, faculty, staff, contract employees and long-term guests. Free SHIELD saliva testing will continue to be offered in the WUIS building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays. Community testing sites also remain available throughout our area.

Anyone who tests positive for COVID-19 should follow CDC guidelines for isolating. The CDC also continues to strongly recommend being up-to-date on boosters for protection against the most serious effects of COVID-19.

Additionally, all three universities will be working with SHIELD T3 on a wastewater testing program at each campus this semester. The data collected from UIS may be used in conjunction with other data we’ve been relying on throughout the pandemic to make operational decisions. If any mitigations—such as face coverings or limiting in-person events—are deemed necessary to help quell the spread of infection, those decisions will be communicated to the university. At this time, face coverings are not required in most locations on campus but the individual decision to wear a face covering will continued to be fully supported.

Thank you for your efforts to stay United in Safety at UIS! If you have any questions, please send them to covid19@uis.edu.

Janet

Janet L. Gooch, PhD

Chancellor University of Illinois Springfield