Notice

May 12th, 2021

Dear New York Film Academy Students, Faculty, and Staff,

I am writing with an update on our plans for the Fall Semester. As we previously announced, our plan is to return everyone to in-person, on-campus learning at all NYFA campuses. For this plan to succeed, it has become clear that vaccination against COVID-19 is the most effective tool we have. We are pleased to see that an increasing number of our community have already been vaccinated and with vaccinations increasingly available to all, we are hopeful that life in New York and Los Angeles this Fall will be much more like before the pandemic.

To support this effort, NYFA is requiring all students, faculty and staff to be vaccinated against COVID-19 before Fall Semester classes begin, with exceptions for medical or religious reasons. We believe this is the best way to ensure the health and safety of everyone on campus. With this level of vaccination, we will be able to relax many of the physical-distancing measures and restrictions we currently employ.

As a reminder of the Fall semester calendar, classes commence on August 30th, 2021. New students will receive from their campus and departments a schedule of orientation activities which occur the week of August 23rd. Details about how to submit proof of vaccination and any other campus entry requirements will be forthcoming. We will work with students traveling from areas where a vaccine is not available to be vaccinated locally before classes begin. Faculty and staff should be prepared to work on-campus by the beginning of the Fall semester with some exceptions for remote work.

We will base safety protocols for the Fall on NYFA policy as well as local and state public health department guidelines. The use of masks, physical distancing and other common safety measures to lower the risk of infection will be determined as we near the start of the semester. As always, our planning is based on science-driven data and predicated upon public health guidelines which are reviewed by NYFA’s COVID Task Force and medical consultant Dr. Peter Bloland, formerly of the CDC. As such, plans are subject to change depending on the conditions this Fall, for which NYFA is well-prepared.

Throughout the challenges of this past year we have endured, and by working together and caring for each other, we have thrived and shown that the NYFA community can overcome the most challenging obstacles. And so we are now thrilled at the prospect of returning to the richness of in-person working and learning, creating and collaborating together as storytellers and artists. We look forward with enthusiasm and optimism to welcoming our new and continuing students back to campus fully in the Fall. As we continue to plan, we will keep you updated on new developments.

Looking Forward,

Michael Young
President
New York Film Academy