BSU, NTC to Require Declaration of Vaccination or Weekly COVID Tests

In response to Beltrami County being classified as having a high transmission rate, Bemidji State University and Northwest Technical College have updated their policies for students and staff for COVID-19 testing and vaccinations.

The new policy will require some students to either provide a declaration that they are fully vaccinated, called vaccine attestation, or they will be subject to COVID-19 tests once weekly. There are still some details with the implementation to work out, and the campuses will hold student forums in the meantime.

“The [Student] Senate is always a good place to go … because we’re working very closely with them as we begin to implement what this looks like here on campus,” said Dr. Faith Hensrud, BSU and NTC President. “One of the big questions we have is, ‘where are we going to do this testing, and how are we going to track the vaccine attestation?’ So there’s a lot to do between now and October 4 as we begin to roll this out.”

The new policy will take effect September 8 for staff and on October 4 for students.