Westfield State University changes COVID-19 attendance policy

WESTFIELD, Mass. (WGGB/WSHM) - Westfield State University students, faculty, and staff received an unexpected email this week regarding class attendance.

The email was sent to our newsroom by a viewer and reads in part:

“As the pandemic has passed, the dean of students office and health services will no longer be providing permissions to students for class absences.”

The email states the reason for the decision is due to numerous legal, medical, and educational issues associated with the practice.

Kristen’s daughter forwarded the email to her. Her daughter wasn’t infected with COVID, but couldn’t attend classes since she was ill:

“She was visibly and audibly sick, and they said they wouldn’t write her a note or anything like that so she reached out to the professor and the professor told her to go to health services, so she was like well what am I supposed to do here?” said Kristen.

She tells Western Mass News, that she doesn’t want to see anything spread.

“I don’t understand if somebody has COVID-19 are they not getting excused from class, why how is that working? If somebody tests for COVID at the health services I would think they would write a note and excuse them from class I can understand they don’t want to take people’s word for it but that’s just ridiculous,” said Kristen.

Baystate Medical Center’s Dr. Paez says COVID-19 is still active in the community, and people should isolate and follow CDC guidelines when infected.

“Since the Fourth of July, the number of cases of patients testing positive being symptomatic or asymptomatic steadily rose and currently, we are at the level of around 68 patients with passive COVID who are hospitalized. I’d like to mention not all of those 68 patients have COVID symptoms approximately 20-30 percent have symptoms treated for a moderate more severe disease due to COVID-19, " said Dr. Paez.

We checked in with colleges in the area, to learn more about their covid absence policies.

We’re told at the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus, that if a student is isolating due to COVID-19 infection, it’s an excused absence covered by their medically excused absence policy.

At Springfield College, students are not to attend class and should reach out to their professors to navigate their academics while in isolation.

She says she wishes the email her daughter received offered more clarity.

“It was pretty vague. It talks about there were medical and legal and academic reasons which I can only imagine if they had listed some of those and been more transparent, maybe I would feel differently but they laid it out there leaving it open to interpretation,” said Kristen.

We received mixed reactions from students off-camera, some were confused, and others did not check their email until Wednesday. Western Mass News contacted campus officials for more information on Wednesday.

On Friday, Westfield State University reached back out to Western Mass News to clarify their policy providing us with the following statement:

Westfield State University takes the health and wellbeing of our community seriously. Since the beginning of the pandemic, we have taken steps to protect our community and mitigate the spread of COVID-19. That focus on health and wellbeing will continue as we do all we can to ensure the safety of all students, faculty, and staff in our community.
* Recently, we have learned of some confusion in our community and local media regarding our COVID policies. We would like to clarify the policies to ease community concerns.
* Our class attendance policies remain the same. Students who have tested positive for COVID should follow all guidelines from the MADPH, including isolating to protect others.
* Students who feel unwell should schedule an appointment with Westfield State University Health Services where they will receive medical guidance and will be tested for COVID if they are experiencing symptoms.
* Students who are feeling unwell – including those who test positive for COVID – should communicate any needs for a class absence directly to their faculty members. Faculty members have been informed that students will no longer receive COVID notes from the Dean of Students office, but this does not indicate a change in any policies regarding health-related absences.
“I want to emphasize that the only change in policy here is that Health Services and the Dean of Students office will no longer give students notes in keeping with how we handle any other illness. Students should communicate directly with faculty members and make arrangements to both get well and stay current with course activities as their health allows. We are confident that all community members will continue to work together to keep everyone safe as we move through our academic year,” noted Dr. Leslie Rice, Westfield State University Executive Director of Communication, Marketing, and Branding.
Westfield State University

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