Central Methodist University staff and students will be required to wear masks while indoors on any campus property for the fall 2021 semester. This applies to everyone on campus, regardless of vaccination status.

The new mandate went into effect on August 2, according to the university’s website, and follows recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Mandatory antigen testing will continue on campus on a regular basis throughout the semester for all students and employees who are not fully vaccinated. It is not known how often tests will be administered. COVID-19 testing will be submitted to students’ health insurance providers, but no students will bear out-of-pocket costs for tests.

The university is encouraging all students and staff to become vaccinated if they have not already. Each full-time undergraduate student at the Fayette campus will receive a $100 incentive check after the first week of school if they submit proof of full vaccination by August 31. Those students will also be eligible for additional drawings.

While many students have already moved into their campus lodgings, the majority will arrive on campus this weekend. Classes begin on Monday, August 23.

Each student not fully vaccinated will be tested upon arrival to campus and prior to entering campus buildings, including residence halls. A testing center will be set up in the Phillips-Robb Recreational Center. Students are asked to park and enter the building for testing. After testing, students may return to their cars and await results, which will be available in less than 30 minutes.

Central Methodist set the bar for colleges nationwide last year. As one of the few that returned for on-campus learning, CMU saw record enrollment and implemented strategies to keep students safe while delivering traditional, in-class instruction. Many of those protocols will be in effect again this year. Temperature scanners will again be available at several locations across the campus, including the entry to the dining hall and residence hall exits.

During the 2020-21 academic year, the university kept a weekly tally on its website listing positive case numbers on campus. There were 53 positive cases total among its employees and 356 among students over the fall and spring semesters. So far this year the university has had three positive cases among 68 employees tested, and two cases among 103 students tested. These occurred between August 1 and Friday, August 13, according to a source inside the university.

The university will once again have a designated facility for students who test positive for the virus, to limit their contact with others. 

The COVID-19 FAQ section of CMU’s website states that “all non-essential events on campus have been canceled until further notice.” However, as of this printing, CMU Band Day on Saturday, October 12, and an in-person Homecoming celebration planned for the last weekend in October, are both still scheduled to proceed. Likewise, athletic events will go on as planned. Athletes will be screened prior to practices and games, and CMU will follow NAIA and Heart of America screening guidelines.