Dear KGI Community,

We hope you are having a safe and restful holiday break. As we anticipate the start of the Spring 2022 semester, we have decided to adjust our previous plans for the return to campus. 

Current COVID-19 Update 

Since February of 2020, KGI has had 29 COVID cases reported both on and off-campus. While any case is cause for concern, this is an impressively small number and it is because our students, faculty, and staff have done an incredible job following our policies, procedures, and guidelines to promote a safe and healthy campus. 

Most of our campus community is vaccinated, and booster documentation continues to be updated daily. We are confident that the protocols we have instituted are highly effective. We also know that some in our community are unable to get vaccinated or live with people who are vulnerable due to medical exemptions. Our extended families are also a part of our evaluation and decision-making processes. 

The COVID-19 Task Force and President’s Cabinet has been evaluating current CDC, California Department of Public Health, and Los Angeles County Department of Public Health data. The newest surge of cases required us to evaluate our plans for the Spring 2022 return on January 3 for employees and January 18 for students. The most concerning data comes from LACDPH regarding current cases and hospitalizations, which has guided us to an important decision. 

As we prepare for our return from the holiday break, we will be a remote campus until January 31.  

The first two weeks of the Spring 2022 term will take place online for most of our courses. We will ask students to check their emails regularly beginning January 15, as faculty will be giving directions for classes before the Spring semester. 

All KGI employees will work remotely beginning January 3 and return to campus on January 31. For those wanting to bring their technology home, please complete the equipment checklist and return to your supervisor prior to coming to campus. As before, all essential research will continue on-campus. Anyone entering campus, must still badge in and out of the buildings.

Decision Making  

  • Given the pressure currently experienced by our healthcare facilities, providers, and testing facilities, we want to give additional time for those entities to respond to the surge we expect to see after January 1. 
  • We are currently in the process of procuring N95 and KN95 masks for our entire KGI Community as recommended by LACDPH. We need additional time to acquire this additional PPE when we return to campus. 
  • Employees and students may have booked travel close to the return to campus date. By choosing January 31 as our return date, we will effectively assure that there is at least a 15-day window from when we believe our community would return to the area of Claremont. 
  • We sent you a message on December 17, notifying you of a change to our COVID-19 Vaccination Policy. This change required all students, staff, and faculty who are eligible (six months past completing their initial vaccination) to receive and submit proof of a COVID-19 booster shot by Monday, January 17, 2022. By postponing our in-person return, everyone will have additional time to acquire their booster vaccine. 
    • Once you have obtained your booster shot, please upload your proof of vaccination. Be sure to save the file with your last name, first name, and indicate booster.
  • We believe after January 15, there may be additional recommendations for Institutions of Higher Education from LACDPH, and by proactively moving toward this model, we put everyone in the best position to begin the Spring semester with the least possible disruption.
  • Given the recent surge, finding access to testing quickly has become challenging. We are hoping that by pausing our return, we will be able to give our community appropriate access to testing as needed.  
  • We hope that well-before January 31, we will have more definitive data on how COVID-19 and the new Omicron variant are affecting positive case numbers and disease severity for vaccinated individuals. By looking at this data, we will better understand how it could affect our community. 

This decision creates challenges for everyone in our community. Please know, this delay of returning to campus was made with the greatest concern for the safety, health, and well-being of our entire community. 

We hope this delay will allow us to move forward in person for the remainder of the Spring semester. If you have any questions, please reach out to your direct supervisor (for faculty), or to Student Affairs (for students).

Thank you for your efforts to help maintain a healthy and positive campus community. We will be together in person very soon.

Be well,

KGI COVID-19 Task Force

Back to kgi.edu/coronavirus page