Connecticut’s Quinnipiac University announced that it will impose fines and WiFi restrictions on students who cannot, or will not, provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination by the beginning of the fall semester.
The university imposed mandatory vaccination for students and staff returning to on-campus learning. In an email sent to students, school leadership stated that approximately 600 students have yet to fulfill the vaccination mandates, or at least they have yet to upload a copy of their COVID-19 vaccination record.
“Our goal is to protect the health of our entire community,” the email obtained by a local news outlet reads. “In order to accomplish this, we must know if you have been vaccinated.”
Quinnipiac University has imposed strict fines for students who fail to upload their proof of vaccination. Charges could rack up to $2,275 per person per semester. The university also announced a tiered fine system. Fees start at $100 per week for the first two weeks of the semester. The fees increase incrementally by $25 every two weeks proof of vaccination is not on file. The maximum fine imposed per week is $200.
Unvaccinated students are required to participate in “weekly, on-campus testing.” Failure to comply with the testing guidelines will result in a $100 fine.
The email also announced that unvaccinated students — presumably not students who have been given a medical or religious exemption by the university — will lose access to the university’s WiFi system if they do not meet the vaccination requirements by September 14.
A spokesperson for the university told local news that after sending out the updated WiFi guidance, an additional 30 students submitted their proof of vaccination. According to the same spokesperson, all full-time faculty members and staff have provided the necessary vaccination information.
Quinnipiac University joins a growing list of schools that are grappling with how to safely return to on-campus and in-person learning as the CDC warns of a spike in the coronavirus Delta variant. Many universities have opted to institute vaccine mandates for students who wish to return to campus learning, including large public universities such as Indiana University, Rutgers University, and Michigan State University.
Other schools, such as the University of Michigan, have mandated all students and faculty to wear face masks indoors, despite mandating that all students and faculty get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
Related: University Of Michigan Mandates Face Mask Following Vaccine Requirement
Fining students for failing to meet vaccination requirements has become an increasingly common practice on college campuses as well.
Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, will impose a $1,500 fine on unvaccinated students for the semester. Per The Daily Wire’s reporting, Birmingham-Southern College (BSC) in Alabama is mandating that unvaccinated students pay a $500 fine to cover the cost of weekly COVID-19 testing.
BSC leadership told students that the charge is imposed “to offset continual weekly antigen testing and quarantining” costs.