Because we are seeing an increase in cases, both on campus and in the local community, we are returning to the Health and Safety Level protocols that were in place at the start of the fall semester. Beginning Monday, October 25, face coverings will be required indoors on campus, with the exception of the SDC and Gates Tennis Center, where face coverings remain recommended for all. You are not required to wear a face covering when alone in an enclosed space. Please refer to our Health and Safety Levels for additional information.
To comply with requirements for federal contractors and subcontractors issued by the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force, all Michigan Tech student employees — including Graduate Teaching Assistants, Graduate Research Assistants, Graduate Teaching Instructors, and graduate hourly employees — must be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 or have an approved exception prior to January 10, 2022.
More detailed information regarding vaccination and exception requirements is included below and on the MTU Flex website. Please send your questions about any of these topics to mtuflex@mtu.edu.
Vaccination Timing
All employees must be fully vaccinated or have an approved exception by January 10, 2022. A person is considered fully vaccinated two weeks after receiving two doses of the Pfizer or Moderna vaccines or one dose of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Please note that the Pfizer vaccine doses are given 21 days apart and the Moderna doses are given 28 days apart. Vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) are also acceptable under CDC guidance.
The COVID-19 vaccine is free, and doses are available at most pharmacies and health care providers. Please visit the Copper Country Strong website for information about where and how to get vaccinated in the Western Upper Peninsula.
Vaccination Documentation
Under the federal requirements, employees will need to show proof of their vaccination status. We are building a confidential process employees can use to provide this proof, either electronically or in person, and which Michigan Tech will use to review that documentation. We will provide more information as soon as we are able.
Exception from Vaccination
Employees with documented medical reasons for being unvaccinated may be entitled to a disability accommodation excepting them from the vaccination mandate. Medical exceptions can be requested by contacting Michigan Tech’s ADA Coordinator at adacoordinator@mtu.edu. Information and a form will be sent to employees for completion, and documentation will be required from a medical provider.
Employees with a sincerely held religious belief, practice, or observance that prevents them from receiving a COVID-19 vaccine may be entitled to an accommodation excepting them from the vaccination mandate. Accommodation requests based on a religious belief, practice, or observance should be made using the religious exception form. When completed, this form should be submitted to Michigan Tech General Counsel Sarah Schulte at shschult@mtu.edu.
All accommodation requests are confidential. In the event that a request is granted, only those individuals who need to know of the accommodation will be informed of it. In the event that an accommodation request is denied, it will not be shared beyond those performing the review, except as requested by the individual seeking the exception. Employees who receive a vaccination exception may be required to comply with alternative health and safety protocols.
All employees need to be fully vaccinated or have an accommodation in place prior to January 10, 2022. Human Resources will work with employees who have challenges with those requirements.
Please send your questions about any of these topics to mtuflex@mtu.edu.
Message from Dr. Koubek from August 5, 2021.
Since the onset of the pandemic, we have worked to create a healthy and safe on-campus experience for our students, faculty, and staff—one that we can flex in response to rapidly changing environments. We have also learned that technology (while great) cannot replace the experiential learning that happens in classrooms, labs, residence halls, and beyond. For these reasons, we are delighted to welcome our students back to campus for a normal start to the fall semester.
To best ensure the continuity of campus operations, Michigan Tech strongly recommends that all employees and students receive the COVID-19 vaccine, especially in light of the virulence of the COVID-19 delta variant.
With all of this in mind and out of an abundance of caution, Michigan Tech will return to Health and Safety Level Two as outlined in our MTU Flex plan, effective August 15, 2021, for at least five weeks. This includes reinstating an indoor face covering requirement for all faculty, staff, students, and visitors (regardless of vaccination status).
During the first few weeks of the semester, we will continue to review available data to inform our pandemic mitigation strategy. Our hope is that Michigan Tech’s face covering requirement is short-term. Our goal is to return to a face-covering-optional environment once we have more information regarding the spread of COVID-19 within our campus community. In the meantime, I ask that you continue to do your part to help keep our campus and community safe. I look forward to seeing you all on campus soon.
There is still room to register for the fall 2014 Safe Place training. The Michigan Tech Safe Place program is a comprehensive resource to better prepare faculty and staff to address the needs of students who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (GLBTQ).
The training program addresses a wide range of terms that GLBTQ students use to define their identities, issues that they often deal with during the coming out process, concerns that they face both in and out of the classroom, ways that faculty and staff can create inclusive classroom and office environments, and refer students who need to report harassment, and the on-and off-campus resources available to students.
View the fall 2014 training times and register online.
Michigan Tech submitted its preliminary fall enrollment figures to the state this week. Enrollment totaled 7,100 this fall, up from last year and the second highest since 1983.
Female enrollment in the College of Engineering is 1,005, an all-time high at 22 percent.
American minority students totaled 474, nearly 7 percent of the student body and another all-time high.
Graduate School enrollment also hit an all-time high this fall, at 1,442 or 20 percent of the student body. The Graduate School received 1,800 more applications this year than last.
Michigan Tech’s 1,093 international students represent another all-time high. Retention—the percentage of first-year students who return for their second year—was 85 percent, the highest it has been since 1993.
Read the the full story.
Published in Tech Today by Jennifer Donovan, director of news and media relations
Professional Development Day is coming up this Friday, September 19.
“From Cover Letter to Interview: Professional Skills Workshop”
GSG and the Michigan Tech Career Center are teaming up to help you market yourself to prospective employers with the following:
- CV & Resume Writing Workshop
- Interview & Career Fair Tips
- Questionnaire Session with International students
A catered lunch ( Vegetarian & Non-Vegetarian) will be provided.
All graduate students are invited to attend. No RSVP is necessary. We hope to see you all there!
Career Services invites you to the largest Career Fair ever.
Michigan Tech’s Career Fair is a celebration and reflection of the value each of our students represents to industry and academia. These recruiters are looking for future leaders in both their organizations and communities. Currently we have more than 300 organizations seeking our current and graduating students to join their organizations, well above the 295 recorded previously in Fall of 2008.
GSG’s first Lunch and Learn of the Fall semester will be held on Monday, September 8th. This lunch-n-learn session will focus on various services provided by Information technology and Van Pelt and Opie Library on campus. The event is followed by a brief questionnaire session.
Where: MUB Ballroom A When: Monday, September 8th Time: 12:00PM -1:00PM MUB catered lunch will be provided for both vegetarians and non-vegetariansNo RSVP required.
First Friday Socials are back for 2014-15. Faculty, staff, graduate students and retirees are invited to attend this year’s opener from 4 to 6 p.m., Sept. 5, in the parking lot outside the Administration Building and on the fourth floor. Complimentary soda, beer and wine will be served along with some great appetizers, and raffles will be held throughout the event.
The Graduate School and Graduate Student Government (GSG) are once again sponsoring this month’s event. Come and mingle with your colleagues and see the Pat Nelson Graduate Conference Center and GSG offices. Along with the Graduate School and GSG, the conference center was funded by a donation by the late Patricia Nelson, wife of Michigan Tech chemical engineering alumnus Charles J. Nelson ’36 (deceased).
In its latest Profiles of Engineering and Engineering Technology Colleges, the American Society for Engineering Education (ASEE) ranked Michigan Tech 10th in the nation in the percentage of engineering doctoral degrees awarded to women. Engineering doctorates earned by women at Michigan Tech totaled 31.9 percent of all engineering doctoral degrees awarded in 2013.
To be ranked, a school had to award a minimum of 25 doctoral degrees in engineering. A total of 117 engineering schools qualified for ranking.
See at ASEE Papers and Publications, page 13.