Vaccine Required for CSN Employment

By Jenny Sadaka-Eitnier

Everyone working at College of Southern Nevada must be vaccinated against COVID-19 —or have religious or medical exemptions— otherwise they will be fired.

Oct. 1 the President of College of Southern Nevada, Dr. Federico Zaragoza, announced in an email that the Board of Regents of the Nevada System of Higher Education approved a mandatory policy requiring NSHE staff and faculty to be vaccinated by Dec. 1, 2021. Those failing to comply with the order by Oct. 15 will receive their initial Notice of Non-Compliance.

CSN Chief Human Resources Officer, Dr. Bill Dial, said, “Currently almost 75% of CSN employees are vaccinated.” Most CSN personnel got vaccinated on their own accords prior to being required to do so.

Dial stated, “There will be several challenges for CSN in adhering to the recently passed Vaccine Mandate Policy. Among this is ensuring accuracy of data, ensuring employees and students needs are met, and being able to explain the details and intricacies of the policy.”

Now employees have to comply and if they don’t, they face termination. For some employees medical or religious exemptions are in play. For non-compliers, they can expect a notice of termination.

“Managing non-compliance is prescribed in the respective policies,” Dial added.

Some professors at CSN are asking NFA, a teacher’s union working on behalf of NSHE faculty, to fight for rights for those who are not vaccinated and don’t want to be to keep their employment.

CSN Administrative Assistant of School of Arts & Letters Carl-Jon Chun stated, “I have no issue and support the mandate. We all have a responsibility to do everything possible —face masks, vaccinations— to prevent and reduce the spread of Covid-19.” Chun further stated that this would determine a pivotal decision for employees. Either they choose to get vaccinated and stay employed or they choose the opposite.

Communication Professor Jeffrey Hein said, “I think the vaccination mandate is necessary and makes me as a professor feel more comfortable if I know that all students and faculty are vaccinated.” Hein said that the mandate will make it safer for more students to choose in-person classes, essential for such courses like COM 101.

Students wishing to enroll for the spring 2022 semester must also be immunized now unless they choose to take online courses only. This establishes the vaccine as a universal prerequisite on CSN’s campuses.

Dial added, “We have learned over the last 18 months, CSN employees and students are resilient, and I have no doubt that through working together we will overcome these challenges as we continue to navigate the pandemic.”