Information for Students

Guests of the University are permitted on campus, and are required to follow University guidelines regarding masking, vaccinations and social distancing. At this time, masks and proof of vaccination are not required to visit Jefferson’s campuses. Guests should not come to campus if displaying any signs or symptoms of COVID-19.

Jefferson students are permitted to visit residence halls on the East Falls and Center City campuses. Students may now have one guest each in the residence halls. The guest must bring proof of full vaccination in order to be admitted as a guest. Please refer to the Residential Life Facilities Policies for East Falls and Center City Campuses for specific information. 

Effective July 13, 2022, masks are highly recommended in all University locations/buildings.

Note: As of Jan. 9, 2023, health professions programs may determine that mask wear will be required for instructors and students in certain learning environments and experiences that replicate patient encounters. Program directors or department chairs will make the decisions on the environments and experiences in which mask wear is mandatory.  Instructors must document this requirement in their course syllabi or otherwise formally communicate this requirement to students in advance of any mandate.

Questions about the health professions policy may be shared with the program director or Dr. Peter Miller, Senior Associate Provost for Academic Enterprise Initiatives at [email protected]. 

Yes, as the pandemic continually evolves, guidance will also evolve. We are committed to communicating changes to our faculty, staff and students as soon as possible.

All new non-clinical students throughout Thomas Jefferson University are no longer required to have completed a COVID-19 primary vaccination series as a condition of university admission as per the Philadelphia Department of Health (April 12, 2023).

Exceptions:

• Students who are clinical (participate in educational activities involving patient exposure or activities within a healthcare facility) are still required to have completed a COVID-19 primary vaccination series.*
• Some clinical training locations that are not part of Thomas Jefferson University require that all students, including visiting students, be “up-to-date” with COVID-19 vaccination. (“Up-to-date” is defined by CDC as having completed a COVID-19 primary vaccination series and the most recent booster.) As a result, students are strongly encouraged to become “up-to-date” in anticipation of rotating at one or more of these outside training locations.

At this time, the booster is not required, but Jefferson does strongly recommend all eligible students receive their COVID-19 Booster. Any students who have received their booster may upload documentation via this link.

There will be no online-only programs created for students who refuse to get vaccinated and do not meet exemption criteria.

The University continues to monitor local and regional conditions related to the pandemic. Due to the rapidly changing nature of COVID-19 and its variants, the University has made the decision to begin its 2022 spring semester online for undergraduate and non-health sciences programs. In-person instruction will resume on January 24, 2022. Students, faculty and staff should check their Jefferson.edu email for further details. 

Fully-vaccinated, asymptomatic international travelers will not be required to quarantine upon their return to Jefferson. However, they must call the COVID-19 line to report their travel as soon as they return. They will have a COVID-19 test ordered for day 5 after return. If asymptomatic, students do not need to quarantine while awaiting the results of the test. Please review the full travel policy here, including instructions for students who have received an exemption from Jefferson’s Student COVID-19 Vaccination Policy.

If the policy of the internship or clinical site is more strict than Jefferson’s policy, students should follow the policies for their internship or clinical site. Symptomatic students or those who have been exposed to COVID-19 should contact:

Students with these types of symptoms should contact the following numbers before participating in any classroom, clinical, lab, or studio sessions, or any activities in which other students, faculty, staff or patients are present:

• East Falls, Voorhees, JIB and Bucks County campus students should call Student Health Services in East Falls at 215-951-2986.
• Center City and Abington-Dixon campus students should call JOHN in Center City at 215-955-6835.

Symptomatic students or those who have been exposed to COVID-19 should contact:

• East Falls, Voorhees, JIB and Bucks County campus students should call Student Health Services in East Falls at 215-951-2986.
• Center City and Abington-Dixon campus students should call JOHN in Center City at 215-955-6835.
• If outside of business hours, call your primary care physician or use JeffConnect, Jefferson’s telehealth service, which can be used by Jefferson students free of charge.

Yes, offices will have in-person hours and many will also have virtual options.

Dining hours will be back to normal when in-person instruction resumes on January 24, 2022. More information on dining services and hours can be found here: https://insisttop.com/east-falls/dining-services.html

The Guttman Library hours can be found here: https://library.jefferson.edu/gutman/about/hours.cfm.

The Scott Library hours can be found here: https://library.jefferson.edu/about/hours.cfm.

Please visit: https://jeffersoncampusstore.com/ and scroll all the way to the bottom for Campus Store hours on each campus.

To keep you informed about how we are navigating during the COVID-19 pandemic, please continue to refer to Jefferson's COVID-19 playbook. This is accessible to students by logging on to the Student Portal and navigating to the top area titled Coronavirus (COVID-19) Info.

On the East Falls campus, students can call the Dean of Students Office at 215-951-2740 or [email protected]. Center City students should reach out to the Office of Student Life and Engagement at [email protected] or 215-503-7743.