This message clarifies the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) COVID-19 vaccination requirements for in-person participation in classes and any other activities at UMB or at the Universities at Shady Grove (USG). No student is permitted to access UMB or USG physically unless they are in compliance with the vaccine mandate policy. Please carefully review this message as it has important information regarding potential withdrawal from fall semester courses and the placement of a registration hold if you are not compliant with the vaccine mandate.
Students without documentation of a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or an approved UMB COVID-19 vaccine exemption by the deadlines below will be withdrawn from all classes. Tuition and fee refunds will be calculated based on the withdrawal date. Full refunds are not available beyond the first day of the fall term (Aug. 30). You can review the refund schedule in the UMSON Academic Calendar.
Please know that we will not approve exceptions to the refund policy based on failure to meet vaccination requirements. Additionally, should a student be withdrawn from classes due to non-compliance with the vaccine mandate, a registration hold will be placed preventing any subsequent registration.
All vaccination records and exemption letters must be uploaded in two places: CastleBranch and UMB’s COVID-19 Vaccine Management portal. Instructions and links to upload the necessary documents can be found at UMSON’s Student COVID-19 Vaccination, Symptom Monitoring, and Testing Requirements webpage. Please note that failure to upload documents in both systems will result in you continuing to be not in compliance with the vaccine mandate.
The dates and schedules below list your final opportunity to become in compliance with the vaccine mandate. I strongly encourage you to be in compliance with the vaccine mandate policy as soon as possible.
Sept. 4: You must submit documentation of either a first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine or an approved UMB exemption dated by Sept. 4. Documentation must be uploaded into CastleBranch and UMB’s COVID-19 Vaccine Management portal. Students missing documentation will be withdrawn from all classes on Sept. 7, and tuition and fees will be refunded based upon the academic calendar.
* Students who received the one-dose vaccine (Johnson & Johnson) by Sept. 4 will be in compliance and should submit their documentation to CastleBranch and UMB’s COVID-19 Vaccine Management portal by noon ET on Sept. 7.
* Students receiving a two-dose vaccine must send documentation of their first dose to Ashley Hargrove, UMSON’s infection control specialist, at ashley.hargrove@umaryland.edu by noon on Sept. 7.
* Students seeking an exemption must submit an approved UMB exemption to CastleBranch by noon on Sept. 7. Please know that UMB’s review process for exemptions takes at least seven days. Exemptions under review on Sept. 7 will not meet the deadline. Only an approved exemption meets requirements for this deadline.
Oct. 9: This is the final deadline for submission of the second dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, if applicable, or a UMB exemption. UMSON will begin checking for documentation in CastleBranch on Oct. 11. Students missing documentation will be withdrawn from all classes on Oct. 11, and tuition and fees will be refunded based upon the academic calendar.
* Students receiving a second dose of a two-dose vaccine must upload documentation of the second dose to CastleBranch and to UMB’s COVID-19 Vaccine Management portal by noon ET on Oct. 9.
* In the event a student requires an exemption to the COVID-19 vaccination after the first dose of a two-dose COVID-19 vaccine, the exemption must be uploaded to Castlebranch and to UMB’s COVID-19 Vaccine Management portal by noon ET on Oct. 11. Only students who proved they received the first dose and have a UMB-approved exemption for the second dose will be permitted to continue at UMSON during the fall 2021 semester.
As nursing students and nurses, we are all called to do what we can to end this pandemic. Please act today; we do not want to be in a position to pause your education because we need all of you to help our nation and the world through this crisis.