Several major colleges and universities, including UC and CSU schools, will require students to get vaccinated to return to campus this fall

• At least three dozen US universities are requiring students and staff to be fully vaccinated for fall classes.
• Some of the schools are Brown University, Rutgers University, and Northeastern University.
• Nova Southeastern University in Florida and St. Edward's University in Texas are doing so despite state bans on vaccine documentation.

Several colleges and universities in the US will require students to be vaccinated in order to return to campus for the fall semester.

The colleges include more than three dozen colleges nationally. Brown University, Rutgers University, and Northeastern University were some of the first to announce their plans, and on Thursday, The University of California and California State University announced that they would require all students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The University of California and California State University

The UC and CSU system, with 33 university campuses, announced their plans on Thursday as COVID-19 case rates in California continued to decline.

"Together, the CSU and UC enroll and employ more than 1 million students and employees across 33 major university campuses, so this is the most comprehensive and consequential university plan for COVID-19 vaccines in the country," said Cal State Chancellor Joseph I. Castro.

"The state of California has been a leader in the administration of COVID-19 vaccines, and Californians receiving a vaccine has led to significantly reducing the transmission of COVID-19 in our state," Castro said. "Continued vigilance will further mitigate the spread of the disease that has radically altered our lives over the past year. We will continue to strongly encourage all members of our respective university communities to receive a COVID-19 vaccination as soon as it is available to them."

UC President Michael V. Drake, added that vaccines are a, "key step people can take to protect themselves, their friends and family, and our campus communities while helping bring the pandemic to an end."

Brown University

In an announcement Tuesday, Brown president Christina H. Paxson said the requirement will apply to all undergraduate, graduate, and medical students who either return to campus or take part in any in-person classes.

"We have every reason to expect that Fall 2021 at Brown will look and feel much more like Fall 2019 than Fall 2020," Paxson said.

Northeastern University

Northeastern University announced plans to resume full-time, in-person classes in September, with all students expected to be vaccinated.

"In order to get herd immunity, we need to get a maximum number of people possible vaccinated," Ken Henderson, chancellor and senior vice president for learning at Northeastern said in an announcement. "If all, or nearly all of our students are vaccinated, we expect that we'll be able to achieve herd immunity."

Cornell University

On Friday, Cornell announced that all returning staff and students must be vaccinated before in-person classes start in the fall, except for those with medical and religious exemptions.

"With the recent announcements of expanded vaccine eligibility in New York and other states, and increasing vaccine production, it is likely that all members of our community will be able to obtain vaccination sometime this spring or summer," Cornell President Martha Pollack and Provost Michael Kotlikoff announced Friday.

"Accordingly, Cornell intends to require vaccination for students returning to Ithaca, Geneva, and Cornell Tech campuses for the fall semester."

Rutgers University

In a letter addressed to Rutgers students and staff last month, the school's leaders said that "the anticipated additional availability of the COVID-19 vaccine is enabling Rutgers to take steps to protect the health of our academic community and to move toward a full return to our pre-pandemic normal as a vibrant institution in Fall 2021."

"This health policy update means that, with limited exceptions, all students planning to attend in the Fall 2021 semester must be fully vaccinated," the letter read.

Fort Lewis College

The liberal arts school in Durango, Colorado, is also following suit.

"A broadly vaccinated student body provides our best hope for returning to the hands-on, inclusive, experiential, and personalized learning environment that we have all come to love," Fort Lewis College President Tom Stritikus wrote a letter to students in early April.

"As such, all students enrolling at FLC for the Fall 2021 semester will be required to get a COVID-19 vaccine," Stritikus said.

Nova Southeastern University

Although at the state level, Gov. DeSantis has loosened restrictions related to COVID-19 and banned vaccine documentation efforts for state agencies and businesses, Nova Southeastern University is requiring returning students and staff to be fully vaccinated.

"All NSU students, faculty and staff returning to any NSU campus or NSU site for the fall 2021 semester/term are required to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 EFFECTIVE AUGUST 1, 2021," the university's president said in a statement.

St. Edward's University

St. Edward's University, a private university in Texas will require vaccines for returning staff and students, even though Gov. Greg Abbott signed an executive order banning state agencies, businesses, public universities, and educational institutions from receiving public funds from requiring proof of vaccination.