Students line up on Wednesday to be vaccinated against the coronavirus at the University of New Mexico Student Union. The deadline for compliance with the UNM’s vaccination mandate ends on Thursday at midnight. (Roberto E. Rosales / Journal)
With a midnight deadline for mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations on Thursday, at least 97% of faculty on the University of New Mexico campus at Albuquerque are fully vaccinated. That is more than 85% of the campus employees and 83.8% of the students.
Not bad, but that still leaves work to be done.
The numbers are changing fast, but by 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, 16 Albuquerque campus faculty members, 225 staff and 1,192 students had yet to submit their vaccination or exemption status to the university’s vaccination portal.
“We contact all non-responses because we don’t know where they are in the pipeline,” said Cinnamon Blair, UNM’s chief marketing and communications officer. “We try very hard to work with people individually because we don’t want to lose any students, employees or lecturers.”
The vaccination centers at the UNM student union remain open until 2 p.m. on Thursday.
To date, the university has paid out more than $ 1.8 million in incentives to students, faculty, and staff who have provided proof of vaccination. This includes $ 100 in federal emergency aid funds per student and the chance to win one of 50 prizes worth $ 1,000 in a raffle for faculty and staff.
Students who fail to comply with the vaccination mandate, including those who have received an exemption for medical or religious reasons, must submit weekly medically validated COVID-19 tests to the UNM Vaccine Verification Agency. The first test result must be submitted by October 8th 11:59 pm.
Those students who fail to comply and fail to submit the weekly tests will be de-registered from the university on or after November 5 and denied for future semesters, Blair said.
Students who are not vaccinated and have no approved exemptions but who present weekly test results are allowed to stay at UNM until the fall semester. However, if these students do not receive vaccinations or exemptions, they will not be able to enroll in the spring semester and beyond.
Blair said that in addition to medical and religious exemptions, students can apply for distance learning exemptions.
“If you’re a college student studying online from Texas or Belen, we need to know your status,” she said. “We need to confirm that you will not be on campus or participating in UNM activities.”
Staff and faculty members who fail to get vaccinated or who are given an exemption will not be able to submit weekly COVID-19 test results.
“If an employee refuses to be vaccinated or to apply for a waiver, they will generally be given a nondisciplinary separation notice,” Blair said.
Non-disciplinary separation is the process by which the employment relationship is terminated for reasons other than misconduct.
“If you don’t do it, you won’t have a job at the university,” Blair said. “They can apply for a position if they meet the requirements, but their (previous) position may not be available.”
The procedure regarding faculty members who fail to comply with the vaccination mandate or receive a waiver varies based on the person’s employment or contract status, she said, but measures can range from unpaid suspension to termination.
“It could potentially stop them working for the university,” Blair said. “We give people the chance to seek clarity before they move on.”
The vaccination mandate applies not only to the UNM campus in Albuquerque, but to all of the university’s properties, including the Center for Health Sciences and the Gallup, Los Alamos, Taos and Valencia campuses. Including Health Sciences, Albuquerque campus, and branch offices, 95.2% of faculty, 89% of staff, and 79.1% of students were fully vaccinated.
“We’re really proud of the people who got involved, not just because it’s a mandate, but to protect our community,” said Blair.
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