11 MRU students deregistered for not complying with vaccination policy

East gate of Mount Royal University in southwest Calgary. (File)

CALGARY — Almost a dozen students from Mount Royal University have been deregistered from their classes for refusing to comply with the school's vaccination policy.

MRU currently mandates that anyone who wishes to attend the campus in person – whether it’s an employee, student or visitor – must be fully vaccinated or undergo rapid testing.

Last month, the university asked students to fill out a mandatory vaccine declaration form.

Those who said they were unvaccinated or refused to declare were automatically enrolled in the rapid testing program.

On Tuesday, MRU said 22 students had since been deregistered but were given a second chance to comply. Ultimately, 11 decided not to and remain deregistered.

MRU confirmed to CTV that the students who remained deregistered made the decision to not participate in the rapid testing program and would have still been allowed to attend in-person classes if they had.

"Approximately 95 per cent of Mount Royal University students are vaccinated," MRU said in a statement. "We have approximately 750 unvaccinated students who either need to comply with rapid testing or need to agree to not access campus in-person."

MRU said the process of student compliance is ongoing, based on daily rapid test results and vaccine verification status.

"Deregistration is the last resort, after several communications with the student,” the statement read.

"We continue to work with health authorities and Alberta Advanced Education in our collective response to COVID-19 in Alberta. As has been the case throughout the pandemic, we are doing our best to appropriately respond to changing protocols in the interests of the health and well-being of our campus community."

MRU says by Nov. 1, it will require anyone heading to campus in-person be fully vaccinated.

To be considered fully vaccinated, you must have received both shots and have had two weeks pass since receiving the last one. This means students and staff at MRU have until Oct. 18 to get their final shot.

To prove they are at least partially vaccinated, MRU has asked students and staff to submit proof through the MRU Now app.

MRU will no longer be providing free rapid tests as of Nov. 1, except for those with an approved medical exception.

According to MRU, those participating in the rapid testing program will be able to access rapid tests on campus at their own cost until the end of the fall semester, when the rapid testing program will end.

After Jan. 1, 2022, rapid testing will no longer be an option for students or employees.

The University of Calgary said it doesn't currently have any details on how many students, if any, had been deregistered.

"If any member of our campus community does not wish to disclose their vaccination status, they are required to participate in our rapid testing program. They are provided with testing kits free of charge, and are required to complete a test every 3.5 days, uploading a photograph of their test results," the U of C said in a statement.

SAIT, meanwhile, said it had not deregistered any students.

"For those who have not shown proof of vaccination we have free rapid testing available on campus and available at various locations for those who are working and studying at our satellite campuses," SAIT said in a statement.