New on-campus event guidance announced
Event organizers should collect attendee contact information for contact tracing
MIT has revised its policies for on-campus events, allowing and welcoming both on and off campus events.
An update on MIT Now writes that internal events for departments, labs, centers, faculty, and student organizations may now be held on campus, as well as events by external groups sponsored by recognized student groups or faculty and staff with departmental approval.
Event organizers are required to collect contact information from all event attendees, including name and phone number or email address. Organizers must obtain and retain this information for 14 days after the event for contact tracing purposes only.
Attendees to events on campus do not need to be on COVID Pass if they are escorted by a COVID Pass holder or if they check in at the event venue.
Attendees must wear face coverings if attending events held indoors, though a speaker may deliver a presentation unmasked if the audience is masked.
Additionally, face coverings are required in all MIT buildings and shuttle buses except when individuals are alone in fully enclosed spaces, actively eating or drinking, alone in residential rooms or common areas, or speaking in a setting where all others present are masked. Face coverings are not required outdoors for vaccinated individuals.
Events with food and drink must reduce space capacity while attendees actively eat and drink. The Institute recommends that events limit group size, maintain additional distance, and limit time spent eating during dining periods.
In general, MIT has lifted COVID-era limits on building occupancy and outdoor spaces, though capacity should be reduced during active dining to allow for greater physical distancing.
MIT has also announced that department-sponsored programs serving K-12 students and minors are permitted to operate on and off campus, though in-person K-12 programs sponsored by students or student organizations are paused until further notice. The pause will be reevaluated at the end of September.
For on-campus K-12 programs, minors eligible for vaccination must be vaccinated unless exempted if the program is more than three days in duration or involves an overnight stay in MIT residences. Authorized K-12 visitors are also expected to follow MIT’s face covering policy, and program sponsors may impose additional restrictions such as attestation and group size limits but cannot impose additional vaccination requirements.
MIT also expects to resume in-person campus tours for prospective undergraduate students this fall after the opening of its new MIT Welcome Center.
Visitors to campus may access MIT either through a COVID Pass holder escort or if checking into an MIT event or campus tour, though unescorted visitors may visit outdoor and public campus spaces.
Visitors are expected to comply with MIT’s COVID-19 policies and may be asked to provide contact information for contact tracing.