University president David Glassman sent an email to all registered Eastern students Friday announcing that beginning in the Fall 2021 semester, “EIU expects every student who plans on taking any in-person classes on campus to have received a full COVID-19 vaccination.”

In an interview later that day, Glassman said that Eastern is using the word “expect” because the administration does want all returning students to be vaccinated, but they understand that some people will be exempt from receiving the vaccine due to medical, religious, or other reasons.

Glassman says that students who may not be able to receive the vaccine will be required to wear masks.

“Beginning this fall, EIU will be verifying the vaccination status of all its students and employees,” Glassman said.

This applies to all employees and students taking at least one in-person class.

Glassman also said that Eastern will be taking the same steps as last year to enforce mask wearing and social distancing.

“EIU will enforce mask rules in the same manner in which we did last year. For students who do not follow the university masking policy, disciplinary action will be taken by the Office of Student Accountability and Support.  For employees, disciplinary measures are enacted by their supervisors.”

Glassman said that a follow-up email should be sent to students later this month to explain how the university will be checking students’ vaccination status.

Luke Taylor can be reached at egtaylor@eiu.edu.