Buildings that have swipe access are only accessible via OneCard. Community members should carry their OneCards with them at all times.

In addition to the residence halls and the Science Center, the following buildings will require swipe access:

• Clapp Library (converting to tap access for accessibility)
• Keohane Sports Center (KSC): interior spaces, including the fitness center and locker rooms; reservations are required for some resources
• Science Hill buildings: the Science Center, the modulars, Whitin Observatory, and Global Flora
• Lulu Chow Wang Campus Center
• Houghton Chapel and Multifaith Center
• Billings Hall
• Schneider
• Harambee House
• Acorns
• Slater

The campus remains closed to the public. 

Alumnae are allowed to come to campus outdoor spaces, but they are not permitted to enter buildings unless they are here on College business, have registered through the visitor registration form, and have provided proof of vaccination.

Campus buildings and facilities are only open to students living on campus and faculty and staff approved to work on campus. All athletics facilities—indoor and outdoor, including the track, fields, and tennis courts—are closed to the public. Only Wellesley College-registered vehicles are permitted to park in campus parking lots. Wellesley police are limiting parking along Route 135, Route 16, and Pond Road.

Indoor guests

• Access to campus buildings is limited to visitors on College business. Consistent with our vaccination mandate for members of our community, guests must be vaccinated and registered before coming to campus.
• Faculty and staff may invite guest lecturers, speakers, job candidates, research collaborators, vendors, contractors, and others on official college business to campus. The faculty or staff member inviting a guest is responsible for ensuring that the guest completes the visitor registration form prior to arriving on campus, which asks them to verify their vaccination status and agree to adhere to our masking policy. (Contractors hired by the Facilities Department follow a separate process.) We ask that you limit the number of guests, especially as the semester begins and we are focused on reducing the risk of exposure for our community.
• Given the dynamic nature of the pandemic, guests will not be permitted in residence halls at the start of the semester. We will revisit this guidance in October.

Outdoor guests

Faculty, staff, and students may invite guests, including alumnae, family, and friends, to visit with them outdoors on the campus grounds. These guests are not required to register.

Events and functions

Lectures and other campus events will be closed to the public. High-profile events that are designed to attract a broad audience will be livestreamed.

Athletics

Indoor athletics events are closed to off-campus guests and spectators. Spectators attending outdoor athletics events are not required to register. For outdoor events over 50 people, masking will be required.

Admission visits

Prospective students and their parents are allowed to visit campus but must register with the Office of Admission in advance, provide proof of vaccination, and be masked indoors at all times.

Move-in

As part of student move-in, only one family member per student is permitted to enter the residence halls. Vaccination status of the family member will be checked upon arrival.

Mail Services is resuming regular deliveries to the mail delivery location for departments on their usual schedule. They will leave a blue mail bag with the incoming mail and pick up a blue bag with the outgoing mail in it. If departments do not want their mail delivered to them, they can notify Fran Adams how they would prefer their mail to be handled. 

The Copy and Printing Services department is located in the Distribution Center. This move completes the operational and physical merger of the Copy Center and Printing Services.

There are three methods for submitting a copy or print job:

1. Submit a request online by going to the Copy Center website and submitting the Online Request Form.
2. Email your file to copycenter@wellesley.edu.
3. Drop off your file with us at the Distribution Center.

You may also leave your books or hard copy originals in the pick up box inside the loading dock area, just outside the former Copy Center location in Green Hall. Please leave your items by 9 a.m. or noon weekdays for pick-up. Order request forms will be there for you to provide specific instructions.

Delivery or pick-up

Copy and Printing Services will deliver completed jobs to campus departments. Alternatively, you may pick up your completed jobs at the entry area at the Copy and Printing Services department at the Distribution Center. Sensitive materials will receive special handling.

Copy and print services staff

Copy and printing services staff are available to meet to provide guidance for your jobs and projects, either by Zoom or in person, following the necessary COVID-19 safety protocols. Students are also welcome to have their print and copy projects completed at the Distribution Center.

If you need additional cleaning supplies, department managers or administrators should submit a work order through the service request button on the Facilities website. Orders will be reviewed and could be changed due to limited quantities available. You will be contacted when the order is ready for pick up at the Distribution Center loading dock.

Other COVID-19 safety supplies are available for specific purposes and departments, such as face shields for those working with chemicals, lip reading masks, and disinfectant. Please contact cv19-supplies@wellesley.edu if you have any questions about the supplies you are eligible for or the process for obtaining them.

One of the tools in fighting the spread of COVID-19 is ventilation. The Facilities Department has reviewed all occupied spaces on campus with the goal of providing each person working and teaching on campus with the best ventilation possible. The College follows CDC guidance to provide the optimal ventilation in buildings with air handling units: increasing the amount of fresh air to a space, good filtration (ie. use of MERV 13), and providing at least four air changes per hour with 100 percent outside air (as conditions allow). The Facilities Department also has technicians that manage and maintain building systems and has a preventative maintenance program. 

Here is some information and tips for users in managing the air in your space.

Buildings with Air Handling Units

An air handling unit (AHU) is designed to provide fresh air and air exchange to designated spaces in buildings. To determine the size of an AHU, several items are taken into account such as volume of space served, the use of a space and the maximum number of people using a space. Optimally, these spaces should be used with windows and doors closed when occupied. This allows the AHU to function as designed. 

Buildings on campus with AHU’s: 

Alumnae Hall, Clapp Library, Collins, Davis Museum, Green Hall, Houghton Chapel, Jewett, Lulu Campus Center, Pendleton East and West, Schneider, Science Center, Service Building, Sports Center, Weaver House, Wellesley College Club, Whitin Observatory. 

Building on campus with AHUs serving particular spaces:

Founders (120, 121, 126, 128, 225, 227 classrooms) 

Other Mechanical Systems

Other types of mechanical systems in our buildings are fan coil units (FCU). These types of units cool or heat the air in the space but do not bring in fresh air. There are some spaces with boilers and forced hot air or electric heat. In this situation, opening windows is the best way to keep air fresh in the space. Keeping them open, even a crack, is helpful. Facilities has checked rooms and windows on campus to ensure occupants can safely open a window for air circulation.

Buildings on campus with other mechanical systems:

All residence halls, Acorns, Billings, Boathouse, Cheever, Child Study Center, Continuing Ed, Distribution Center, Harambee House, Nehoiden House, Physical Plant, Shakespeare House, Simpson, Slater, Stone Center, TZE, Waban House, and ZA House. 

There are some spaces on campus where there are no AHU or available windows and are occupied by more than one person. These spaces have been provided with portable HEPA units that clean the air and provide similar air changes per hour as the AHUs. Facilities has created instructions on how to use the HEPA units. HEPA units are not installed in common areas in academic buildings (kitchens, copy areas, etc.) or restrooms as these areas will not be occupied for long periods of time.

If the air filtration system is not working in your space, your window does not open, or you have a problem with the portable HEPA unit, please submit a service request. For general questions and information, please contact Suzanne Howard, director of environmental health and safety.