Rowan University To Offer Up To $1,000 To Students Who Are Fully Vaccinated

By Forbes

New Jersey’s Rowan University announced Thursday that students who provide proof they have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 will receive up to $1,000 in credits, in what is the latest, and most lucrative, program to incentivize vaccinations by a college in the United States.

KEY FACTS

Rowan’s full-time students will receive a $500 fall tuition credit if they show proof of their vaccination before August 7. 

Students living on campus are also eligible to receive an additional $500 credit toward their housing bill.

In a letter released Thursday, Rowan University President Ali A. Houshmand noted the student body “should not bear the burden of ensuring our community health on campus” and that incentives for employees are “being developed in compliance with union regulations.”null

Rowan will require all students who attend classes in person this fall to be vaccinated, but students may opt out of the vaccination requirement “in accordance with guidelines for the emergency use authorization of the current vaccines.” 

Unvaccinated students will be required to undergo weekly Covid-19 testing. 

CRUCIAL QUOTE: 

“We believe the path to normalcy is through widespread vaccination, and we want our entire community to commit to reaching the goal,” Houshmand said. “If we work together, we can… offer the Rowan University experience that we all deserve.”null

KEY BACKGROUND:

After the pandemic shut down colleges nationwide last March, the list of schools requiring students to get their shots before returning to campus continues to grow, as does the number of programs aimed at encouraging and incentivizing vaccinations. Last month, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro announced a lottery where vaccinated students were eligible to win various prizes, including meal plans valued at $150 each and credits toward the cost of textbooks. The grand prize was free on-campus housing for a year. Danville Area Community College in Illinois is offering a free summer class, up to $600, to anyone with a CDC vaccination card. “I certainly support the idea of the College playing a role to encourage more people to be vaccinated,” saidBoard Chair Dave Harby. “I also think we need to let the public know that they can get back on track with their college goals by taking summer classes.” The University of Iowa is giving students who have been vaccinated a $10 gift card that can be used at grocery stores, restaurants and “even parking at public garages and street meters” in downtown Iowa. Johnson County Community College in Kansas is offering employees a one-time $250 payment to get the vaccine. Michigan’s Wayne State University has pledged to add $10 to the accounts of vaccinated students. North Carolina Central University has held weekly drawings where students who upload their Covid-19 vaccination record can win residential parking passes and textbook vouchers, as well as TVs, laptops and access to private movie screenings.

TANGENT:

In partnership with the White House, the National Football League announced Wednesday it is offering 50 free tickets to next year’s Super Bowl to fans who have been vaccinated.

CONTRA:

“The fact that we as a country have to beg or pay or bribe people right now to take this life-saving vaccine, the optics are awful internationally. We look like a nation of adolescents, especially at a time when India, Africa and most of the world are clamoring for more vaccine supply,” Peter Hotez of the Baylor College of Medicine told the Washington Post. “These are not bad ideas. We’re struggling and we need innovative ways of reaching the high bar for population immunity.”

BIG NUMBER:

2.1 million. That’s the average number of vaccine doses administered daily in the U.S., according to a New York Times database, representing a 37% decrease from the average in mid-April.null

FURTHER READING:

A (Vaccine) Shot And A Beer: New Jersey Offers A Cold One To Residents Who Get Immunized (Forbes) 

Yale Is The Latest University To Require Students To Get A Coronavirus Vaccine (Forbes) 

$100 as Incentive to Get a Shot? Experiment Suggests It Can Pay Off. (New York Times)