Date: January 13, 2022
TO: NYU Parents
FROM: NYU President Andrew Hamilton

Dear Parents, Families, Guardians, and Loved Ones of NYU Students,

I want to update you on our plans for the spring semester.

Yesterday, we sent a communication to all our students, faculty, and employees letting them know that we will be proceeding with the resumption of in-person classes on January 24th as scheduled.

We are, of course, keenly conscious of the surge in new cases nationally and in New York, largely attributable to the emergence of the Omicron variant. We saw a sharp acceleration in new cases on NYU’s campus as the fall semester drew to a close.

But with our high vaccination rates and booster requirement; our strict mitigation measures, abundant sense of caution, and realistic recognition that we will see more cases than previously; our continued commitment to decision-making guided by the health of the NYU community; and some flexibility and additional perseverance on everyone’s part, we believe that resuming in-person teaching and learning on January 24 (for most of our programs) is the proper course of action for our community.

In advance of the spring semester’s start, I have two important requests of you.

First, that you re-emphasize for your NYU student that getting a booster vaccination and uploading proof of it is a requirement, and the January 18 deadline is fast approaching. We consider high rates of booster vaccinations a vital public health measure for our community, and the consequences for non-compliance will be significant. They include students being prohibited from entering NYU buildings or attending classes; ultimately, it will lead to de-enrollment and loss of University housing.

If your student has not gotten the booster, they should do so right away and upload the proof immediately. If they have already received the booster but simply haven’t uploaded the proof, they should do so now — it’s easy, and it takes only a couple of minutes.

Second, please make sure that your child gets tested within the 72-hour period before returning to campus and doesn’t return to campus unless it is safe to do so. Students should stay home and should not return to campus:

  • If they test positive for COVID-19, until after they have ended their isolation period
  • If they have symptoms of COVID-19, until after they have received a negative PCR test, they are fever-free, and their symptoms are improving

Please be aware that one of the key messages that we have conveyed to schools and faculty members is the need to plan for students being absent — particularly at the start of the semester — and setting in place mechanisms so that students can keep up with their courses. Accordingly, if — for any number of reasons — students are unable to make it to campus by the time classes start, there will be provisions in place that enable them to keep up with their work.

I appreciate your assistance with these important steps, and your support for your student and more generally for NYU.

There will be challenges this semester. We have planned hard and worked hard to be ready for them. We take the responsibility for the welfare of our community — and particularly your students — very seriously, and we will be proceeding cautiously.

Notwithstanding all that, we will be glad to have the students back and to resume education and research.

I will write again soon after the start of the spring semester.

Sincerely,

Andrew Hamilton
President
New York University