News and Updates
New Guidelines on Reopening Campus in Fall 2021
See ACHA's Considerations for Reopening Institutions of Higher Education for the Fall Semester 2021 [pdf](posted May 25, 2021)
Pulse Survey Report: COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements
May 13, 2021
ACHA’s COVID-19 Task Force conducted a pulse survey between April 19 and April 23, 2021, to ascertain information related to
COVID-19 vaccination policies for academic year 2021-2022. Schools were asked about the decision-making
process and whether guidance from ACHA might be helpful in that process, as well as issues of concern regarding
vaccination requirements.
ACHA Recommends COVID-19 Vaccination Requirements for All On-Campus College Students in Fall 2021
April 29, 2021
Where state law and available resources allow, ACHA recommends COVID-19 vaccination requirements for all on-campus college and university students for fall semester 2021. Read more.
Interim Guidance for COVID-19 Vaccination: Don't Delay the First Dose
April 21, 2021
ACHA urges college students to schedule their COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible and not to delay initiation until they reach their summer destination. Read more.
Upcoming Webinars
Updated May 25, 2021
Managing COVID-19 Vaccine Misinformation on Campus
Friday, June 17, 2021, at 3:00–4:00 PM ET
Join the CoVAC Initiative for a presentation on the impact of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, frameworks for assessing and responding to vaccine misinformation, and examples of how to respond to vaccine misinformation in a campus community. Featuring presenters from the Virality Project, the Internet Observatory, and Boston University.
ACHA Guidelines: Considerations for Reopening Institutions of Higher Education for the Fall Semester 2021
May 26, at 3:00 pm ET
Authors of the soon-to-be released ACHA Considerations for Reopening Institutions of Higher Education for Fall Semester 2021 will provide an overview and key considerations for college health professionals and senior leaders as they plan for students returning to a fully occupied campus this fall. Considerations for student health, counseling, and health promotion services as well as discussions of vaccination, testing, non-pharmaceutical interventions, residence life, athletics, recreational sports, the learning environment, student life, and visitors to campus are included.
EQUITY SERIES SESSION 2: Building Trust and Confidence for the Long Term: How to Design Campus COVID-19 Mitigation and Vaccination Strategies That Address the Needs of Marginalized Communities
Friday, July 9, at 3:00 pm ET
Part of the ACHA Higher Education COVID-19 Community of Practice (HECCOP) and Campus COVID-19 Vaccine (CoVAC) Equity Series
Join us as we discuss how campus personnel can leverage inclusive and expansive evidence-based practices to inform equitable mitigation and vaccination strategies. Topics to be covered include how to incorporate listening session results into campus mitigation and vaccination strategies; how to build trust and confidence by developing communications and practices, policies, and protocols that respond to the needs and experiences of marginalized communities; and how to partner with trusted community members to deliver credible messaging.
ACHA Resources
ACHA COVID-19 Guidelines and Briefs
Checklists for Reopening Campus Medical Services Operations and Mental Health Service Operations
The ACHA COVID-19 Task Force has created two documents to assist with reopening operations, one specific to reopening medical services, and one to reopening mental health services. These resources were developed as a companion to the ACHA Guidelines: Considerations for Reopening Institutions of Higher Education in the COVID-19 Era, and are intended to assist directors and staff in assessing their readiness and preparation for reopening as well as serve as a guidepost for reinstituting and modifying services in the changed world of COVID-19.
The Impact of COVID-19 on College Student Well-Being
ACHA, in collaboration with the Healthy Minds Network, developed a new set of survey items related to students’ experiences with the COVID-19
pandemic. The new items focused on students’ attitudes, concerns, preventive behaviors, and their perceived supportiveness of colleges and universities related to COVID-19. View a brief data report which presents results from 18,764 students on 14 campuses that participated in the surveys from late March through May 2020.
ACHA Survey Reports on Health Centers' Pandemic Operating Status and Response
ACHA's COVID-19 Task Force has been developing and administering surveys to collect critical data to
assist in the study of the COVID-19 pandemic event. The results included in several of these reports, "The COVID-19 Pandemic's Effect on Campus Health Services," represent a snapshot of
the college health services' operating status and response at the time the surveys were conducted, while others included lessons learned:
Archived Webinars, Q&As, and Events
Webinars, Workshops, and Q&As
Connect Before You Correct: How to Host Listening Sessions and Develop Trust to Mitigate COVID-19 and Decrease Vaccine Hesitancy in Marginalized Communities
Recorded May 21, 2021
Part of the ACHA Higher Education COVID-19 Community of Practice (HECCOP) and Campus COVID-19 Vaccine (CoVAC) Equity Series
View Here
Welcoming International Students to Campus: Considerations for Travel, Vaccinations, Testing, and Quarantine
Recorded May 7, 2021
Part of the ACHA Higher Education COVID-19 Community of Practice (HECCOP) Initiativebr />
View Here
SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance Testing: What Colleges and Universities Need to Know from Dr. Michael Mina and Dr. Michael Deichen
Recorded April 23, 2021
Part of the ACHA Higher Education COVID-19 Community of Practice (HECCOP) Initiative
View Here
The Power of Partnerships: UC Davis
Recorded April 9, 2021
Part of the ACHA Higher Education COVID-19 Community of Practice (HECCOP) Initiative
View Here
Moderna Covid-19 Vaccine Information and Q&A Session
Recorded April 7, 2021
Part of the ACHA Campus COVID-19 Vaccine (CoVAC) Initiative
View Here
Hot Topic: Commencement—Virtual, Hybrid, or In-Person? Public Health Considerations and Decision Making
Recorded March 26, 2021
Part of the ACHA Higher Education COVID-19 Community of Practice (HECCOP) Initiative
View Here
Hot Topic: COVID-19 Variants – Which Ones Should We Worry About and How Do We Deal With Them?
Recorded March 12, 2021
View Here
Let's Talk Campus Vaccines: Routine, COVID-19, and Everything in Between
Recorded March 5, 2021. Hosted by American College Health Foundation with support from GlaxoSmithKline.
View Here
COVID-19 Mitigation At Rural, Small and Medium Sized Institutions: Solutions From the Field
Recorded February 26, 2021
View Here
ACHF Webinar: Case Studies: Best Practices in Sexual Health Promotion and Clinical Care in the COVID-19 Era
Recorded November 13, 2020. Sponsored by ACHF with support from Hologic.
View Here
ACHA COVID-19 Task Force “Ask the Experts”: Creating Support Systems for Students in Isolation and Quarantine
Recorded November 6, 2020
View Here
ACHA COVID-19 Task Force “Ask the Experts”: Contact Tracing, Isolation and Quarantine—Systems for Small, Medium, and Large Colleges and Universities
Recorded October 23, 2020
View Here
ACHA COVID-19 Task Force “Ask the Experts”: SARS-CoV-2 Testing
Recorded October 9, 2020
View Here
CDC and ACHA COVID-19 Task Force “Ask the Experts”: Wastewater Surveillance
Recorded September 25, 2020
View Here Download Slides
ACHF Webinar: (Re)Introducing Best Practices in Sexual Health Promotion and Clinical Care in the COVID-19 Era
Recorded September 25, 2020. Sponsored by ACHF with support from Hologic.
View Here
ACHA Reopening Guidelines Q&A: Focus on Contact Tracing
Recorded May 29, 2020
View Here
ACHA Reopening Guidelines Q&A: Focus on Housing
Recorded May 22, 2020
View Here
Reopening Campus Q&A: A General Overview of the ACHA Guidelines
Recorded May 15, 2020
View Here
Public Health and College Health Working Together: Q&A
Recorded May 1, 2020
View Here
COVID-19 Q&A: Topical Issues
Recorded April 17, 2020
View Here
NFID COVID-19 Update: Preparedness and Response on U.S. College Campuses
Recorded April 15, 2020. Co-hosted by ACHA.
View Here
Mental Health in the COVID-19 Era: Q&A
Recorded April 3, 2020
View Here
Telehealth in the COVID-19 Era: Q&A
Recorded March 27, 2020
View Here
Update on COVID-19: Q&A
Recorded March 20, 2020
View Here
ACHA COVID-19 Webinar: Updates, Resources, and Guidelines
Recorded March 18, 2020. Hosted in partnership with Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors (AFA), the American College Health Association (ACHA) and the Association of College Unions International (ACUI).
View Here
COVID-19 Virtual Summits
Vaccines
Mass Vaccination Guidance and Resources
The ACHA COVID-19 task force has gathered this list of resources to assist members in planning for mass vaccination clinics. See also this message from ACHA leadership regarding advocacy for SARS-CoV-2 vaccination of college health professionals.
CDC COVID-19 Vaccination Resources
CDC’s COVID-19 Vaccination Information for Healthcare Professionals and Jurisdictions provides information on:
- Product Info by US Vaccine
- Clinical Considerations
- Provider Requirements and Support
- Training and Education
- Recipient Education
- Planning & Partnerships
- Vaccination Toolkits
- COVID-19 Vaccination Reporting Data Systems
At the above link, see the following items which may be especially useful for campuses and campus health centers:
COVID-19 Vaccination Communication Toolkit for Medical Centers, Clinics, and Clinicians
This toolkit includes ready-made materials you can use to inform your healthcare teams and other staff.
V-safe After Vaccination Health Checker
V-safe is a smartphone-based tool that uses text messaging and web surveys to provide personalized health checks after someone receives the COVID-19 vaccine. Once registered, the vaccine recipient will receive a daily text reminder to check in and answer survey questions about health. Depending on their answers, someone from CDC may call. V-safe will also remind recipients when to get the follow-up vaccination.
FDA COVID-19 Vaccine Updates and Resources
FDA provides updates and information on vaccines that have received emergency use authorization (EUA). See “COVID-19 Vaccines Authorized for Emergency Use” for more information on common side effects, fact sheets for health care providers administering vaccine, and FAQs for each of the vaccines that have received EUA.
Immunization Action Coalition (IAC)
This page provides links to key COVID-19 vaccine resource
pages from IAC, CDC, and other partners.
See also: COVID-19 mRNA Vaccines: What Clinic Personnel Need to Know
Situation Updates
- CDC Data Tracker: Find maps and charts tracking cases, deaths, and trends of COVID-19 in the United States, updated daily by 8 pm ET.
- Statista:
Provides retrospective counts of new U.S. cases by date.
- COVIDView: A weekly surveillance summary of U.S. COVID-19 activity. The report summarizes and interprets key indicators including information related to COVID-19 outpatient visits, emergency department visits, hospitalizations and deaths, as well as laboratory data.
Information and Resources for Campuses
See also ACHA Resources above.
CDC Considerations for Institutions of Higher Education
This guidance is intended to help administrators of public and private institutions of higher education (IHE) prevent the spread of COVID-19 among students, staff, and faculty. Includes guidance on:
- Testing in Institutions of Higher Education
- Guidance for Student Foreign Travel
CDC Communication Resources
CDC offers free resources including video, fact sheets, and posters. See this page to access current communication tools and resources available for use and distribution.
Information for Travelers