University of Pittsburgh 'disenrolls' unvaccinated students

No vaccine, no classes.

That’s the policy the University of Pittsburgh is now enforcing, saying it has “disenrolled” students who have not complied with the school’s covid-19 vaccine mandate.

Pitt announced Dec. 6 it was putting a requirement in place for all students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated by Jan. 1. Students who didn’t comply or have an approved exemption on file were told they would not be allowed to enroll in spring 2022 term classes, which began Monday, or live in residence halls.

In addition, Pitt officials said current faculty and staff who were not vaccinated would be subject to disciplinary action.

“While we continue to work with those who are trying to come into compliance, late last week noncompliant students were disenrolled from classes and lost access to Pitt buildings and certain IT functions,” assistant vice chancellor of communications David Seldin said Tuesday in a statement. “In addition, noncompliant employees lost access to Pitt buildings and certain IT resources.”

If students get vaccinated after being disenrolled, Pitt said it will allow them to return to school. A similar policy applies to Pitt staff members. To do so, students would need to either provide proof of vaccination or apply for and receive an approved exemption.

Any student who is disenrolled and chooses not to take steps to return to compliance can apply for a refund, Seldin said.

“Employees who choose not to take steps to return to compliance may be subject to additional disciplinary action in accordance with the University’s disciplinary guidelines,” Seldin said.

RELATED: Pitt students shelter in place to start spring semester

Pitt officials declined to say how many students or noncompliant staff members had been impacted by the policy.

In late December, Pitt announced classes would be taught remotely, with limited exceptions, for the first 2½ weeks of the semester, which began Jan. 10. A shelter-in-place period went into effect Jan. 8, in reaction to the surge of cases from the omicron variant; students are asked to stay in their dorm or off-campus housing as much as possible.

In November, before the announced deadlines, Pitt said the vaccine rate was above 93% on all of its campuses. The overall vaccination rate is now 96% among students, faculty and staff across all Pitt campuses, officials said.

Other major universities in Pittsburgh have announced similar vaccine policies. Last August, Carnegie Mellon University announced all students, along with faculty and staff working in the United States, are required to be fully vaccinated against covid-19.

Also last Dec. 16, CMU said it was requiring booster shots for all “CMU community members.” And last week, with omicron variants spreading, the school announced a shift to “mostly remote instruction” for the first two weeks of the spring semester.

As of Monday, CMU’s student booster rate was 98%, according to its testing dashboard.

Duquesne University has not barred any students or employees from returning to campus, according to spokesman Kenneth Walters. However, the university is requiring all students have a negative covid test 48 hours before arriving on campus.

“We have also instituted a 10-day flexible arrival period, to ensure that students have the time to do what is necessary to return safely,” he said.

Nearly all (99%) of Duquesne students are in compliance with the University’s vaccine policy, as are 93% of employees, Walters said.