GVSU will move to mask optional, Alert Level 0

Grand Valley will move its COVID-19 alert level to Level 0 on Wednesday, May 4. This means that face masks will be optional in all campus locations, including classrooms and other academic spaces. 

Faculty members can request their students wear face masks in class but cannot make it a requirement. There still may be unique situations where face masks are required, such as those regulated by the government.

Some members of the campus community will choose to continue to wear face masks, and they should be supported by all Lakers for doing so. Faculty and staff can require masks to be worn in their private offices.

The health indicators used to inform the university's COVID-19 response have been revised. They were last revised in the summer, and some indicators are no longer useful because of the Virus Action Team transition and evolving guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and local health experts. 

The decision to move to Level 0 was informed by the following indicators. This list will be updated on Lakers Together:

• Government orders and regulations
• CDC COVID-19 Community Levels (Kent, Ottawa)
• GVSU trends monitored internally (e.g., students who live on campus, athletics, employees, obvious clusters)
• State and regional case trends (Kent, Ottawa, Michigan)
• Stress on state and regional hospitals
• Vaccination rates (GVSU, Kent, Ottawa)
• Observations of conditions at other Michigan colleges and universities

Answers to most questions can be found on Lakers Together. Specific questions about vaccine exemptions can be sent to [email protected] and COVID-related health concerns can be sent to [email protected], or contact your health care provider. The VAT email account is now dormant.

 “Mini-VAT” now oversees the university's COVID response. Members of this group are Greg Sanial, vice president for Finance and Administration; Ed Aboufadel, associate vice president for Academic Affairs; Kate Harmon, acting associate Dean of Students; and Luke Dalton, public health specialist and graduate of GVSU's Master of Public Health program.