Answers to some of the most common questions about the student vaccine requirement can be found on this page. View our general COVID-19 FAQs for answers to other common questions.
General Student Vaccination FAQs
Yes, unless you are a student who is never going to visit campus.
To participate in in-person, campus-based programs and activities, Gonzaga University will require all campus-based undergraduate, graduate, and law students to submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or an approved exemption. Full COVID-19 vaccination is defined as "two weeks after receiving one dose of the Johnson & Johnson COVID-19 vaccine, or two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer BioNTech vaccine."
- First-year students must submit their proof of COVID-19 vaccination, along with proof of other required vaccines, to the COVID-19 Student Vaccination portal (Online Health Portal) by Thursday, August 11.
- Returning students only need to submit proof of COVID-19 vaccination if they have not done so already, or have received a new dose. Returning students do not need to re-submit proof of vaccination.
- Students in graduate-level online programs who never come to campus are not required to submit COVID-19 vaccination proof or documentation.
- Students in programs that are offered partly on campus/in person – including online graduate students who come to campus at any point in the academic year for an immersion, commencement ceremony, or any other reason – must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to the COVID-19 Student Vaccination portal (Online Health Portal).
- Students who wish to study abroad must submit proof of full COVID-19 vaccination to the COVID-19 Student Vaccination portal (Online Health Portal).
Students in graduate-level online programs who do not ever come to campus are not required to submit COVID-19 vaccination proof or documentation.
Our goal is for all our faculty, staff and students to be vaccinated, with exemptions for those who have submitted approved religious or medical exemptions.
Visit the COVID-19 Student Vaccination portal (online health portal) to submit documentation for vaccination status and any exemptions for either religious beliefs or medical reasons (as is the case for other required vaccinations).
This decision was not taken lightly. Gonzaga leadership, including a dedicated work group, spent many months discussing and researching this decision. Here are some of the reasons why this decision was made:
- It is Gonzaga’s goal to continue near-normal operations throughout the 2022-23 Academic Year, in order to deliver the holistic educational experience to which we are committed. This includes in-person instruction, shared residence hall spaces, communal dining, student sports, recreation, and performance activities.
- We concluded that this decision is the best way to fulfill our moral, ethical, and legal obligation to endeavor to create and support a reasonably safe and hazard-free campus and work environment for our students, faculty and staff.
- The decision aligns with our University’s Catholic, Jesuit, and humanistic mission, which focuses on the common good as well as one’s own thriving and development.
- Vaccination is supported by local, state, and national public health agencies as the primary tool for preventing COVID-19 and ending the pandemic.
- This decision allows Gonzaga to channel more resources into creating an inclusive, in-person experience and less on COVID-19 testing, isolation and quarantine services.
- Vaccinations are readily attainable on campus and in communities throughout the country. Gonzaga has partnered with local healthcare providers to make COVID vaccines widely available here in Spokane and vaccines are now available for not only adults, but children aged 6 months and older.
Visit Gonzaga's COVID-19 Student Vaccination portal (Online Health Portal). Once there, enter your student ID and password and follow the steps to upload your documentation.
The deadline for uploading your documentation for the Fall 2022 semester is Thursday, August 11, 2022.
This means documenting that you have received two doses of the Moderna or Pfizer BioNTech vaccine, or one shot of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine, or submitting a medical or religious exemption by August 11.
If you have questions about your COVID-19 vaccination verification, or are experiencing difficulties uploading your documents, please contact Medicat’s Compliance Services. Email complianceservices@medicat.com or use the Messages tab once you are in the portal.
If you have problems with login, please contact the Gonzaga University IT Support Center at (509) 313-5550.
If you have forgotten your username or password for the COVID-19 Student Vaccination Portal, or are having other technical issues, please contact Gonzaga's ITS Support Center at techsupport@gonzaga.edu or (509) 313-5550.
No. Gonzaga’s primary mode of academic delivery for undergraduate students for Fall 2022 will be in-person. Undergraduate students will not be able to attend remotely.
Yes, it is completely acceptable to wear a mask and practice social distancing if you have been vaccinated. We understand there are many reasons why someone may wish to do this.
Gonzaga has strived to make it clear to the campus community that this is completely acceptable, and that no one should be discriminated against in any way due to the observance of masking, distancing, or other health and safety measures.
The widespread adoption of vaccines is considered the primary method of bringing the coronavirus pandemic to an end.
Due to the incredible, decades-long work of scientists and pharmaceutical companies on coronaviruses and mRNA research – and with the massive financial support of the federal government – COVID-19 vaccines are now a reality.
To learn more about COVID-19 vaccines, visit the CDC vaccine website as well as the FAQs about the COVID-19 vaccines.
Students are instructed to download and print the University medical or religious exemption form available on the COVID-19 Student Vaccination portal (online health portal).
Yes, COVID-19 vaccination is required for all faculty, staff, and administrators, contract partners and volunteers, by order of the Governor. These requirements apply to adjunct faculty and event staff as well. Exemptions to this requirement may be requested for medical or religious reasons. You can find out more about the Governor's directives here, and read his recent Proclamations and Health Orders.
Employees can access the Benefits portal to submit documentation of their vaccination or exempt status. Find step-by-step instructions for using the benefits portal to upload your vaccination status.