7/16/21 Message from President Rice to campus

Dear UMPI Community,

As a follow-up to Chancellor Malloy’s message earlier today, I just wanted to take a few moments to summarize the protocols we have announced for this summer and our return to campus in the fall.

  • As of July 26, UMPI will align with changes in state of Maine practices and no longer require students and employees who have verified their vaccination to wear masks inside university buildings.  Such individuals are also exempt from testing and quarantining.
  • UMPI students and employees on the Presque Isle campus or at the Houlton Center who are not vaccinated will continue weekly testing and are required to wear masks when indoors.
  • Students arriving on campus this fall (both residential and commuter) who have verified their vaccinated status, prior to coming to campus, will be exempt from testing, quarantining, and are not required to wear masks when indoors.
  • Students who have not verified their vaccinated status (both residential and commuter) will need to test upon arrival on campus, will be required to quarantine while awaiting test results, and must wear masks when indoors.
  • As part of the University of Maine System, UMPI expects to require vaccinations  once any of the vaccines that have been issued to hundreds of millions of Americans under emergency use authorization receive regular FDA approval.  The policy will recognize and respect that some individuals are not able to be vaccinated.
  • All students entering their vaccination information starting July 16 are eligible for a Shot Clock Vaccination Scholarship, with one individual selected weekly until August 20.

You can find further information on these protocols here.

You may upload your vaccination verification at the secure UMS portal at https://umaineportal.pointnclick.com/ and may find further instructions here.

Once again, my thanks to everyone for their vigilance throughout this continuing COVID-19 pandemic; your mutual care has helped make these new protocols– and a return to a more traditional experience– possible for all of us.

Ray