Welcome to TCNJ Student Health Services!
All students are subject to health requirements as a pre-requisite to attending classes at TCNJ and entering college housing (if applicable). These requirements are mandated by New Jersey Higher Education Immunization laws and The College of New Jersey. Health requirements apply to students living on or off-campus, attending classes on campus or at an off-campus location in New Jersey, and regardless of how many classes are being taken. Students who are re-entering or re-admitted after an absence are required to update health requirements following the due dates established for new students. All health requirements are completed using the Online Wellness Link (OWL), TCNJ’s secure student health portal. Students can log into OWL 24 hours after being assigned a TCNJ email account.
Due Date: July 1st
TCNJ Pre-Entrance Health Requirements:
Step One: Complete the Student Medical History Form
Complete the Student Medical History form located in OWL in the Student Health Services Clinic in the section “Forms to Be Completed”.
Step Two: Complete the CCS Consent Form
Complete the CCS Consent form located in OWL in the Student Health Services Clinic in the section for “Forms to be Completed”.
Step Three: Upload a Copy of Your Immunization Records
Upload a copy of your Immunization Record to OWL. In the Student Health Services Clinic in the section “Document Uploads”. Select “Record of Immunizations or Laboratory Tests.”
Acceptable Evidence of Immunizations
Docket app to obtain a copy of your immunizations received in New Jersey
Step Four: Complete the Physicians Evaluation of Tuberculosis (if indicted)
Complete Physicians Evaluation of Tuberculosis (only if indicated):
Located in OWL in the Student Health Services Clinic in the section ” Forms to be Completed,”
Note: required only if the student has answered YES to one or more of the questions on the Tuberculosis (TB) Screening Questionnaire in the Student Medical History.
Step Five: Complete the Privacy Consent Form
Located in OWL in the Student Health Services Clinic in the section, “Forms to be completed.”
Step Six: Provide Health Insurance Information
Located in OWL in the Student Health Services Clinic in the section “Health Insurance Information.” Please note: providing this information is only for Student Health Services use during a medical appointment. This has nothing to do with the student health insurance waiver process that is required by Student Accounts.
Step Seven: Complete the Text Opt-In/Opt-Out form
Located in OWL in the Student Health Services Clinic in the section “Forms to be completed.”
Step Seven: Check your TCNJ Email
TCNJ email is the primary form of communication with students. Students should check their new TCNJ email at least once a week. Emails from our office regarding your immunization status will come from noreply@medicat.com. Please be sure to read them.
Housing Health Holds, Late Fines, and Registration Holds for Noncompliance
All CCS students are expected to complete pre-entrance health requirements by the due date listed above.
Housing Health Hold
- A Housing Health Hold will prevent you from moving into your campus housing. Student Health Services releases The Housing Health Hold in PAWS when the student completes health requirements. This release will be reflected in the Housing system the following day. We will release the Housing Health Hold when a student is not due to receive their next dose of a required vaccine (second Varicella, second or third Hepatitis B, second MMR) until after classes begin because of vaccine spacing interval rules. When the next dose is due before classes begin, students are expected to receive the vaccine, upload the record to OWL, and their Housing Health Hold will then be released.
Late Fines
- Students who have not completed health requirements and do not have an approved extension in writing from the director of Student Health Services by the following dates will incur nonreversible late fines as follows:
-
- August 10 ($50)
- October 1 (additional $50)
Registration Holds
- Students who have not completed health requirements by the due date will incur a registration hold preventing class registration. This hold will be released when the student completes health requirements.
The above applies unless Student Health Services has provided the student with an extension to complete health requirements, such as when spacing between certain vaccines is necessary.
Exemptions from Immunization Requirements
Medical
- Per N.J.A.C. 8:57-6.14, students are not required to have any vaccinations that are medically contraindicated based upon valid medical reasons as enumerated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). For current ACIP immunization schedules and recommendations, including contraindications, click HERE.
- To apply for a medical exemption from required vaccinations, your healthcare provider must complete the Request For Medical Exemption From Mandatory Immunization Form.
- Upload the completed form to OWL by the due date for pre-entrance health requirements. All other health requirements must be submitted prior to uploading this form.
- The information on the form will assist our office in determining the validity of the exemption and whether it should be accepted or rejected. Supporting medical documentation may be requested by our office and/or by local or state public health authorities.
- Laboratory test reports showing immunity to measles, mumps, rubella and varicella are acceptable in place of vaccination.
- The student requesting the exemption will receive an email sent through OWL informing them of the status of their request. If approved, the student will be exempted from the specific immunization permanently (in the case of a permanent medical condition) or temporarily until such time that the student’s medical condition permits vaccination.
- The College of New Jersey may temporarily exclude a student with an exemption from vaccination from classes and from participating in college-sponsored activities during a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak or threatened outbreak. The decision to exclude a student with a medical exemption will be made by the College in consultation with the New Jersey Commissioner of Health.
- Note that medical exemptions apply to vaccination only and not to other health requirements.
Religious:
- Per N.J.A.C. 8:57-6.15, a student may be considered for exemption if the student provides a written statement, signed (handwritten signature) by the student (and a parent or court-appointed legal guardian if the student has not yet reached 18 years of age), explaining HOW the administration of immunizing agents conflicts with the student’s bona fide religious tenets or practices. A general philosophical or moral exemption to the vaccination will not be sufficient for an exemption on religious grounds.
- The statement must include the current date and have the student’s legal signature (and the signature of a parent or court-appointed legal guardian if the student has not yet reached 18 years of age).
- Upload the written statement to OWL by the due date for pre-entrance health requirements. All other health requirements must be submitted prior to uploading this document.
- Laboratory test reports showing immunity to measles, mumps, rubella and varicella are acceptable in place of vaccination.
- The student requesting the exemption will receive an email sent through OWL, informing them of the status of their request. If approved, the student will be exempted from the specific immunization.
- The College of New Jersey may temporarily exclude a student with an exemption from vaccination from classes and from participating in college-sponsored activities during a vaccine-preventable disease outbreak or threatened outbreak. The decision to exclude a student with a medical exemption will be made by the College in consultation with the New Jersey Commissioner of Health.
- Note that religious exemptions apply to vaccination only and not to other health requirements.
Contact information for questions about health requirements:
Call 609-771-2889
Email health@tcnj.edu