Category: University COVID-19 Policies/Testing

Generally, no. All students, faculty, staff and visitors are required to wear masks indoors to help slow the spread of COVID-19.

Students who seek a medical accommodation to the face mask policy should solicit assistance from Disability Accommodations and Success Strategies (DASS@smu.edu).

Faculty and staff employees should contact Human Resources.

We fully expect that students will be respectful of this policy to protect campus health, as they were last year. Any inappropriate student behavior that is persistently disruptive may be subject to campus disciplinary action.

Tuition payments at SMU are due Friday, Aug. 13.

Tuition is fully refundable if students formally withdraw prior to the first day of classes, Aug. 23.  To find more information about the enrollment and withdrawal process, including tuition and fee reimbursement timelines, please visit the Office of the University Bursar.

We know from our history of COVID-19 cases on campus (prior to vaccine availability) that the first few weeks of a semester generally yield the highest level of infection rates and cases.

During this re-entry period, we will be closely monitoring our local metrics to assess the impact of the virus on our campus using key data points such as area infection rates and hospitalizations, confirmed cases, campus isolation capacity and available vaccine data. As the situation abates in our local community and on our campus, we will reassess.

We are not setting a deadline to end or reconsider the policy,  but will respond accordingly as soon as circumstances support a change. Remember, please, that as we announced in July, individual faculty members will have the option during the fall semester to include a mask requirement within their individual classrooms, even if the overall campus mask requirement is lifted. 

Our policies are meant to protect the overall community, and this temporary masking policy is designed to minimize the current spread of the delta variant, in particular. The vaccine never promised to completely prevent infection, but to reduce the spread and to dramatically decrease the likelihood of severe illness, hospitalization and deaths due to COVID.

We anticipate this requirement will be a short-term measure as students are returning to campus from across the country, where infection rates vary widely, and while Dallas County’s mask mandate is in place due to high infection and hospitalization rates in our area. Our temporary mask requirement is for indoor spaces only – there is no requirement to wear a mask outdoors. For clarification, the mask should have two layers (2-ply) and cover the nose and mouth completely. We are not requiring two masks be worn at the same time. Please find specific information about the efficacy of wearing masks here.

In deciding how to respond to changes in the virus, SMU looks carefully at the impact on our campus. Our Emergency Operations Center uses key data points such as the Dallas County infection rate and hospitalizations, as well as SMU-specific data such as confirmed cases, isolation capacity and available vaccine data. The University is asking all employees and students to voluntarily upload their vaccination information to the student health center so we have a more accurate estimate of the campus vaccination rate.