Student Affairs

The Western Health Center can provide students with most vaccines they will need to maintain a healthy lifestyle including the flu shot and the HPV vaccine. We recommend you call the Health Center at 943.2707 for pricing and scheduling. if you are traveling to a foreign country and require Typhoid, Cholera, or Yellow Fever vaccinations please contact the Montrose Public Health Dept. at 970.252.5000 for information regarding those vaccinations.

There is an abundance of information available at the CDC website www.cdc.gov/vaccines. From there you can browse their page and visit sites that will answer vaccination questions, lead you to links about international travel and much, much more. For information regarding a specific vaccine click on Vaccine Information Statements (VIS). From there you can click on individual vaccines.

Helpful Links for Specific Vaccinations

Human Papilloma Virus:

• www.GARDASIL.com
• www.HPV.com

Hepatitis A-E:

• www.webmd.com/hepatitis
• www.cdc.gov

Influenza:

• www.cdc.gov/flu

Meningitis Disease Information:

• www.meningococcaldisease.com

Tetanus, Pertussis, Diptheria Booster (Tdap) for adolescents:

• www.tetanus.org

For health and safety reasons, as well as compliance with Colorado law and State Health Department regulations, all students enrolled in colleges and universities are required to submit proof of immunization*.  In the event of an outbreak, Western needs to be able to respond appropriately and timely.  For this to be effective, we need ALL students to comply.  Students must submit the completed CERTIFICATE OF IMMUNIZATION FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS or STATEMENT OF EXEMPTION form to Student Affairs before registration.  To make sure we have full student compliance, holds will be put on student accounts who have not provided us with proof of 2 MMR immunizations.  Holds will also be placed on student accounts for those living on-campus and are missing the meningococcal vaccination or waiver.

* Age Exemption: The Measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine is not required for college students born before January 1, 1957.

A college student is defined by the State Board of Health as any student who is enrolled for one or more classes at a college or university and who is physically present at the institution. Students who are auditing classes are included, but students who are taking only correspondence or off-campus classes are not included.

Early each semester, all students who are not in compliance will be notified by email and it will be noted on their checklist in Workday.

If your proof of immunity is incomplete, contact the Campus Health Center located on the first floor of Tomichi Hall or Public Health to obtain the necessary immunizations. The MMR immunization is usually given to children at age 1 and 5. We are not asking that you get an additional immunization if you have already had these shots. We only need proof that you have had them. Proof can be provided on an immunization record that is signed by a doctor, a record that has been printed directly from a provider or insurance company’s electronic record, or from a previous school. More than likely, your high school also required these shots. A record from your high school will most likely be accepted. A hand-written, personal copy is not sufficient unless it includes some kind of signature or stamp from the clinic/doctor that administered the vaccination. Some states have a database that you may be able to use to locate your past immunizations.

If you need to get the immunization, Public Health in Gunnison (970.641.0209) does offer the immunization. Under the Affordable Care Act, if you have insurance, immunizations are provided at no cost. Without insurance, the immunization cost is $14 per shot. A titer test can be taken at the Gunnison Valley Hospital, which will show if you have been immunized before. A positive titer would mean that you have been immunized and you would only need to provide the positive titer results instead of proof of 2 MMRs. However, a titer test is significantly more expensive. It is not harmful to get re-immunized if you have had the shots before. If there is no record of the immunizations, we have to assume they never happened.

Western Colorado University strongly recommends that all students receive the meningitis vaccination. However, Colorado state law indicates that only first year students are required to provide proof or a waiver of the meningitis vaccination.  A meningitis vaccination must have been given within the past five (5) years, otherwise a booster is required.  If a student decides not to obtain the booster and their previous vaccination is more than five (5) years old, they must sign the waiver (pg. 2 of the Certificate of Immunization). Students interested in getting the meningitis vaccine should contact their health care provider or contact Gunnison County Public Health at 970.641.0209 to make an appointment. First year students and students living in on-campus housing will be asked to read and acknowledge information regarding the meningitis vaccine when completing their housing contract online before moving into their residence hall and all students are required to sign a waiver if they chose not to receive the vaccination.

*PLEASE NOTE: The immunization form has two (2) pages.  You only need to fill out the Meningococcal Disease side if you have decided NOT to obtain the vaccination or your most current shot is more than five (5) years old and you have chosen not to get a booster, in which case, please check the box and fill in the information requested.  If you have received the vaccination, please fill in the date it was received on the 1st page and ensure that you have at least read the Information Regarding Meningococcal Disease.

What is the Requirement?

Federal law requires nearly all male citizens and immigrants ages 18 through 25 to register with the U.S. Selective Service System.

As a Colorado institution of higher education, it is our responsibility to inform students of this federal requirement prior to course registration (Colorado House Bill 23-1261).

For more information, see the Selective Service System’s Who Needs to Register page.

What you need to do:

To fulfill this requirement, you’ll need to register with the U.S. Selective Service System.

1. Go to the Selective Service registration page.
2. Scroll down, then complete and submit the registration form.

Note: Conscientious objectors are still required to register with the U.S. Selective Service System.

Instructions for Completion of Incident/Injury/Property Damage Report

To be completed by Student/Witness/Other

This is not a report for on-the-job injuries. Use the first report of injury from provided by the HR office.

1. Report all serious injuries and safety hazards to campus security ext. 3084, student affairs ext. 2232, and risk management office ext. 7052.
2. Report all Incident/Accident within 24 hours.
3. Individuals involved in, observing or discovering the Incident/Accident or property damage is responsible for completing this report.
4. Be observant: attempt to get as much information as possible at the time of the Incident/Accident.
5. Relate only to the facts on this form.
6. The Student Affairs Office will review this Incident/Accident report and will submit it to the Risk Management Manger with any recommendations for action, if necessary.
7. After form is completed, email or deliver this form to student affairs office at gpierson@western.edu or hand deliver a hard copy to:
   Taylor Hall 301
   1 Western Way
   Gunnison, CO
8. Once Student Affairs reviews the report, it will be determined if a student Incident/Accident Analysis form will need to be filled out by the department head.

• All students enrolled in colleges and universities are required to submit proof of immunization.
• A college student is defined by the State Board of Health as any student who is enrolled for one or more classes at a college or university and who is physically present at the institution. Students who are auditing classes are included, but students who are taking only correspondence or off-campus classes are not included.
• Submitting records: Immunizations will be submitted via the housing and campus life portal below.

Housing & Campus Life Portal

• Medical Exemption – the Certificate of Immunization must be submitted with the statement of medical exemption signed by an advanced practice nurse or physician indicating that the physical condition of the student is such that immunizations would endanger his/her life or health or is medically contraindicated due to other medical conditions.
• Religious Exemption – the Certificate of Immunization must be submitted with the statement of religious exemption signed by the parent(s) or emancipated student indicating that the student is an adherent to a religious belief whose teachings are opposed to immunizations.
• Age Exemption – the MMR vaccination is not required for college students born before January 1, 1957. Please contact the Office of Student Affairs at 970.943.2232 or stop by Taylor Hall 301 if this exemption applies to you.
• If you are taking ONLY online courses or courses that are offered off-campus, you are exempt. Please contact the Office of Student Affairs at 970.943.2232 or stop by Taylor Hall 301 if this exemption applies to you. Remember, if you attend classes on-campus in the future, you will be required to provide your immunization records at that time.

• The meningococcal vaccination is not required for Western students living off-campus, but we do ask that all students either waive the vaccination or provide the date they received the vaccination. Students living in on-campus housing are required to provide either proof or a waiver for the vaccination. Students living on-campus are highly encouraged to get the meningococcal vaccination.

• Try checking with the most recent school you’ve attended. MMR’s are required in most states across the country to attend school. Even if you’ve been out of high school for a while, high schools seem to keep their records for a long time.
• Check with your doctor. Even if you don’t have the same doctor you had as a child, chances are your records were transferred to your new doctor.
• Check with your insurance provider. Many insurance companies keep your immunization records online and they can be printed right from your account. We will accept these records as long as it has been printed directly from the provider’s web page.
• Check your personal immunization record. If you have a hand written record that you take with you when you get an immunization, we can accept it as long as there is a signature or stamp of the doctor who administered the vaccination.
• Some states have a database of records. You can check to see if your home state has this type of service. Not all states are listed, but that does not mean that state does not have a database. There may be databases for state counties as well, depending on the state.

• It is not harmful to get re-immunized if you have had the MMR shots before. If there is no record of the immunizations, we have to assume you never got them. MMR shots are available at Gunnison Public Health (970.641.0209) for $14 per shot without insurance. Under the Affordable Care Act, if you have insurance, immunizations are provided at no cost.
• You could get a titer test at Gunnison Valley Hospital, which will show if you have been immunized before. A positive titer would mean you have been immunized and you would only need to provide the positive titer results instead of proof of 2 MMR vaccinations. A titer test is significantly more expensive than getting the shot again.

• Each semester, Western will send out an email to all students who are missing their Immunization Record or Selective Service form. Students will need to provide their records to the Office of Student Affairs (Taylor Hall 301, 970.943.2232 phone, 970.943.2254 fax) before their registration date for the following semester. A few days before registration begins, a HOLD will be place on student’s accounts that are non-compliant with the MMR requirement and/or the meningococcal requirement (as applies to living on or off-campus). This HOLD will prevent students from registering for classes for the upcoming semester. Once the student has provided the Office of Student Affairs with proof of 2 MMR vaccinations and/or the meningococcal vaccination, the hold will be removed and the student will be allowed to register.

• Call 970.943.2232 to check what kind of hold is on your account.
• If the hold is for failure to turn in immunization records, you need to provide proof of 2 MMRs and/or the meningococcal vaccination. Once the record is received, the hold will be removed.
• Missing the Selective Service form will NOT result in a hold.

Students are placed on academic probation status as a warning that their academic progress is not satisfactory and that they should take steps to improve their academic performance to avoid dismissal from the University.

After the official Add/Drop period for courses, but before the withdrawal deadline, a student wishing to withdraw entirely from the University will be given a grade of “W” for all courses except variable-credit courses.

Western will not “excuse” a student from classes. However, the Office of Student Affairs will send memos to a student’s faculty if they have missed or plan on missing classes. Memos will only be sent to faculty if the student can provide documentation of their absence, including the days missed and why. A memo will not be sent until the office has received verification of the absence. Memos do not excuse a student from class; they are simply a verification of absence. Students are advised to personally notify their faculty as soon as possible about any absences and inform the Office of Student Affairs.