We are pleased that you are considering Frontier Nursing University!
Frontier Nursing University (FNU) currently requires all persons who enter our campus to be fully vaccinated for COVID-19 according to CDC Guidelines and as permitted by applicable law.
Accepting our Offer of Admission includes a requirement to attend an in-person three-day student orientation called Frontier Bound. The session is held on our beautiful campus in Versailles, KY. Frontier Bound is an exciting session where you meet your classmates, faculty and staff. Time is spent learning skills needed for distance education, making lifelong friends, reviewing courses, asking questions, and developing your plan to be a successful Frontier student after returning home. Each Frontier Bound session brings students together from all over the United States with a different group of students arriving on campus each week.
Over the past few years, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, Frontier Bounds have been conducted virtually. Although these virtual sessions have been sufficient at teaching the needed skills, in-person Frontier Bounds are instrumental in creating bonds with fellow students and allow the invaluable opportunity of having face-to-face interactions with faculty and staff. We know from our research that attending the on-campus orientation results in a better student experience and improved success as an FNU student.
COVID-19 is a highly transmissible disease caused by a virus called SARS-CoV-2. COVID-19 can cause people to become severely ill and even die. Those who do not become severely ill from COVID-19 can still experience post-COVID conditions, including a wide range of health problems.
The CDC explains that COVID-19 vaccines effectively protect people—especially those who are boosted— from getting seriously ill, being hospitalized, and even dying. As with other diseases, you are protected best from COVID-19 when you stay up to date with the recommended vaccines.
FNU is trying its best to prevent the spread of COVID-19 to protect our students, faculty, and community partners. Our unique situation at FNU is that we have approximately 2,500 students representing every state in the United States. We hold weekly in-person sessions on our campus in Versailles, Kentucky that bring smaller groups of 25 to 50 faculty members and students together for either a Frontier Bound orientation or Clinical Bound session. The Clinical Bound session involves practicing clinical skills in preparation for beginning the students’ clinical experience in a community clinical site. During their time on campus, participants participate in interactive learning activities as well as eat together and sleep in student lodges with double-occupancy rooms and shared restrooms.
The students and Faculty in these groups come from various locations throughout the country. This means that FNU cannot just evaluate the COVID status in or near our campus community when making decisions about COVID policies. Instead, FNU must prepare to receive students and faculty coming together from a wide variety of geographic locations where cases of COVID transmission are highly variable.
Therefore, FNU has decided that the safest path for our community is to require that everyone coming to our campus is fully vaccinated against COVID-19. All faculty and staff members, students, and visitors are required to receive the COVID-19 vaccination, unless a reasonable accommodation has been approved. The policy intends to comply with all applicable laws and is based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, and state and local health authorities.
Face coverings and testing have been suggested as an alternative to vaccination. However, attending in-person classes and events on behalf of FNU without being vaccinated increases the risk of COVID exposure to FNU students, employees and community partners. Wearing a face covering and submitting to regular COVID testing does not adequately mitigate the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 virus to others. Rather, the CDC has specifically advised that getting vaccinated is the best way to slow the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
Face coverings provide variable levels of protection against COVID-19 infection. Testing as a strategy is frequently too late because if individuals test positive while on campus, they have already exposed others. If an individual tests negative before coming to campus, they could have a COVID-19 infection that is not detectable yet.
Some have also suggested that FNU provide virtual learning and clinical sessions as an alternative for individuals who are unvaccinated. FNU has been able to provide virtual sessions in the past two years, before the vaccination was widespread. But now that the FDA has fully approved the vaccine, we are resuming normal operations including on-site Frontier and Clinical Bounds. It would be an undue burden for FNU to attempt to provide these sessions both virtually and in-person. More importantly, we believe the learning outcomes are greatly improved when students come on-site to attend these sessions.
Individuals who believe they may qualify for an exemption to FNU’s vaccination policy will have the opportunity to submit their exemption request form (located in CastleBranch) via CastleBranch as part of their new student onboarding process. The likelihood of receiving an exemption to the vaccine requirement is very rare because of the potential of causing an undue hardship or a direct threat to the health and safety of others.
Once the exemption form has been uploaded in CastleBranch, you will be contacted by FNU to arrange a meeting to discuss your exemption request and to identify possible accommodations. FNU is committed to complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (and corresponding state laws) and will grant reasonable accommodations where they do not cause an undue hardship or pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others. The likelihood of receiving an exemption to the vaccine requirement is very rare because of the potential of causing an undue hardship or a direct threat to the health and safety of others.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will boosters be required? Not at this time.
I had the COVID-19 virus and have the antibodies, am I required to provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination? Yes
Who do I submit my COVID-19 vaccination card to? CastleBranch. CastleBranch is an external company and you will receive directions as part of your onboarding Frontier Bound requirements in your Offer of Admission.
What is the deadline to submit proof of vaccination? The same time all other Frontier Bound requirements are due. Requirements and deadlines will be provided with your Offer of Admission.
What happens if proof of vaccination isn’t submitted by the deadline? Failure to submit the required prerequisite health documentation by the published deadline date (provided in your Offer of Admission) will generate a rescission of your Offer of Admission.
Is there an option to submit a religious or medical exemption? Yes. Vaccine exemptions completed by a medical provider or a request for a religious exemption can be submitted with other onboarding requirements after applicants have accepted their offer of admission to an FNU program. Frontier Nursing University will evaluate exemption requests on a case-by-case basis. The likelihood of receiving an exemption to the vaccine requirement is very rare. Any approved exemptions will be shared with student clinical sites, as this is a part of the affiliation agreement between FNU and clinical sites. Not receiving the required immunizations may impact a student’s ability to secure clinical placement and FNU can not guarantee that a student will locate a clinical site that does not require a COVID vaccination.
What is the probability that religious or medical exemptions will be approved? The likelihood of receiving an exemption to the vaccine requirement is very rare because of the potential of causing an undue hardship or a direct threat to the health and safety of others. Exemptions are reviewed on a case by case basis and results of requests are confidential between FNU and the applicant.
Dr. Tia Brown McNair is the Vice President in the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Student Success and Executive Director for the Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (TRHT) Campus Centers at the American Association of Colleges and Universities (AAC&U) in Washington, DC. She oversees both funded projects and AAC&U’s continuing programs on equity, inclusive excellence, high-impact practices, and student success. McNair directs AAC&U’s Summer Institutes on High-Impact Practices and Student Success, and TRHT Campus Centers and serves as the project director for several AAC&U initiatives, including the development of a TRHT-focused campus climate toolkit. She is the lead author of From Equity Talk to Equity Walk: Expanding Practitioner Knowledge for Racial Justice in Higher Education (January 2020) and Becoming a Student-Ready College: A New Culture of Leadership for Student Success (July 2016 and August 2022 Second edition).