Vaccinations for your program participations has created a huge issue for the field. The two major topics: 1.Whether to mandate vaccinations for in-person class participants; and 2.Coping with the resulting revenue problems for programs accepting non-vaccinated people for in-person classes.
Mandate Vaccinations?
LERN Senior Vice President for membership Julie Coates is Recommending that programs only accept participants for in-person classes if they have been vaccinated. See her reasons below. The Recommendation does not include children and youth camps. An exclusive LERN survey found that over 80% of lifelong learning program directors do not want to mandate vaccinations.
Yet the move to mandate vaccinations is growing, led by over 75 universities and colleges. Both the California State University system and the University of California campuses will mandate vaccinations soon. California sets trends. “Even more institutions are likely to follow, according to Lynn Pasquerella, president of the Association of American Colleges and Universities,” reported CNBC.
Students in public schools in all 50 U.S. states are required to get some kind of vaccination.
Revenue Problems with Non-Vaccinated Participants
In recent LERN Leader meetings this spring, these revenue problems arose with accepting non-vaccinated participants for in-person classes:
* Class space limitations reduce revenue due to continued social distancing.
* Some classes, like cooking, can’t even be offered in-person, according to some program leaders, because the social distancing and separation issues cannot be overcome.
* Large numbers of potential participants, especially older adults, are reluctant to return to in-person classes.
* Part time staff are reluctant to return to help with classes, gyms, pools and camps due to the COVID health issues of working with non-vaccinated people.
Why You Should Mandate Vaccinations
Here’s the Top X reasons why LERN’s Membership leader Julie Coates is recommending only vaccinated people in your in-person classes:
1.Profitability Decreased due to space limitations.
2.Registrations Drop with many adults reluctant to return.
3.Bad Press Nationally when one person gets COVID from your classes.
4.Online Option still available for non-vaccinated adults.
5.Staff Safety is affected and part time staff harder to hire.
6.Bad Image for your program being seen as ignoring the science and medical authorities.
7.The New Normal as the wider business community starts to mandate vaccinations.
